Biogenesis
Living begets living
Biogenesis is the principle that living organisms arise only from other living organisms, not from nonliving matter.
The concept emerged in the nineteenth century to counter spontaneous generation—the belief that life could spring from inanimate substances.
Pasteur's experiments supported biogenesis by showing that microbes came from other microbes, not from broth itself.
In biology, biogenesis also refers more broadly to the production of living structures: ribosome biogenesis, mitochondrial biogenesis.
Parent splitting into offspring
- mitosisNuclear division producing identical cells
- organellesSpecialized cell subunits
- mitochondriaCell's energy-producing organelles
- chloroplastsPhotosynthesis-performing cell structures
endosymbiosis · membrane · replication · reproduction · daughter cells · cytoplasm · nucleus · ribosomes
How living things began
- PasteurFrench scientist's surname
- cell theoryLife comprises basic units
- primordial soupHypothetical life-origin mixture
- prebioticNutrient for gut bacteria
metabolism · replication · hydrothermal vents · self-organization · emergence · prokaryotes · biosynthesis · chirality
Non-physical life principle
- life forceAnimating vital energy
- creationMaking something exist
- emergenceComing into existence
- complexityState of being complicated
self-replication · teleology · naturalism · materialism · reductionism · holism · animate · inanimate
Of cell's energy centers
- endosymbiotic theoryOrganelles from engulfed microbes
- maternal inheritanceGenes from the mother
- plastidPlant cell organelle
- engulfmentComplete surrounding and absorption
cell division
Parent splitting into offspring
- mitosisNuclear division producing identical cells
- organellesSpecialized cell subunits
- mitochondriaCell's energy-producing organelles
chloroplasts · endosymbiosis · membrane · replication · reproduction · daughter cells · cytoplasm · nucleus · ribosomes · DNA
origin of life
How living things began
- PasteurFrench scientist's surname
- cell theoryLife comprises basic units
- primordial soupHypothetical life-origin mixture
prebiotic · metabolism · replication · hydrothermal vents · self-organization · emergence · prokaryotes · biosynthesis · chirality · nucleotides
vitalism
Non-physical life principle
- life forceAnimating vital energy
- creationMaking something exist
- emergenceComing into existence
complexity · self-replication · teleology · naturalism · materialism · reductionism · holism · animate · inanimate · boundary
mitochondrial
Of cell's energy centers
- endosymbiotic theoryOrganelles from engulfed microbes
- maternal inheritanceGenes from the mother
- plastidPlant cell organelle
Biogenesisdeath
Cessation of life
decomposition · biodegradation · necrosis · extinction · decay