| Lazzaro Spallanzani (January 10, 1729 - February 12, 1799)
was an Italian biologist. He was born in
Modena and died in Pavia, Italy. Spallanzani
was educated at the Jesuit College of Reggio, and started to study law at the University of Bologna, which he gave up soon and turned to science. At the age of 25, he became
professor of logic, metaphysics, and
Greek in the University of Reggio. He made many expeditions throughout
Europe, including Switzerland and Turkey.
Spallanzani researched and disproved the theory about the spontaneous generation of cellular
life in 1768. His experiment proved that microbes come from the air, and that they could be killed through boiling. This work
paved the way for later research by Louis Pasteur.
Lazzaro also discovered and described animal (mammal) reproduction, requiering
semen and an ovum. He was the first to perform an
artificial insemination, using a dog. Spallanzani
showed that some animals, especially lizards, can regenerate some parts of their body
if injured or surgically removed.
See also: biogenesis.
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