two main experiments that disproved the concept of spontaneous generation

Francesco Redi: disproved spontaneous generation generation by setting up jars of meat on a table. the 1st one was uncovered. the 2nd one was covered with gauze and the 3rd was covered with thick parchment.results:

1. was infested with flies and maggots
2. had fly eggs on the gauze but the meat was unharmed
3. no flies were attracted with this experiment, the idea that flies evolved from meat was no longer believed

Louis Pasteur: disproved spontaneous generation by setting up flasks of broiled broth and some were covered and some werent. the ones that were covered were not infested with bacteria but the ones not covered were infested with bacteria. though some scientists still believed in spontaneous generation as a possiblity. his final experiment involved broiled broth in a flask but was curved at a zig zag motion and was uncovered.results: the bacteria settled only on the edges or curves of the flask but no bacteria was infested with bacteria. this experiment was left out and never put away for 4 yrs and the broth still was never infested. this disproves spontaneous generation (the belief that living things can come from nonliving things)

In 1668, an Italian physician named Francesco Redi came up with a hypothesis to disprove the idea of spontaneous generation–specifically, the thought that maggots could come to life from meat.  Redi observed that after meat sat out, flies would be attracted to it, and a few days after that maggots would appear.  Redi thought that maggots were from fly eggs too small to be seen.  Redi set up an experiment–with the control and variable groups–to prove his hypothesis that flies produce maggots.  In the experiment, the control group was a piece of meat in an uncovered jar.  The variable group was a piece of meat in a jar covered with gauze; the gauze allowed air through, but not the flies.  After a few days, Redi observed that the control group had maggots on the meat and the variable group didn’t. He then concluded that maggots only form when flies come in contact with meat and that spontaneous generation is not at play.
In the 1700s, an English scientist proposed that spontaneous generation was possible and performed an entirely different experiment that he suggested proved it.  Later, another Italian scientist, improved on that experiment and concluded that Redi was indeed correct the first time.  So for almost 200 years after Redi, there was still much debate as to whether or not spontaneous generation could happen.
Until there was Pasteur.  Louis Pasteur, in 1864, settled the argument once and for all.  Taking the basic idea of the two scientists from the 1700s and answering critics that said air was necessary for life, Pasteur developed a special flask.  It had a curved neck that allowed air in, but would trap any microorganisms and not let them contaminate his findings.
Pasteur showed that his flask was free from microorganisms, even though it was open to the air.  For a year, there was no microbial growth. Until Pasteur broke the neck of the flask.  And when microorganisms appeared, he proved to the world that life could only come from other life.  Because of his findings in this and many other experiments throughout his life, Louis Pasteur is considered one of the greatest Biologists in history.