Lazzaro Spallanzani
1729-1799
Italian Physiologist
Lazzaro Spallanzani was an Italian physiologist who extensively studied animal biology and reproduction. He is probably most famousfor his experiments that helped to disprove the theory of spontaneous generation, which helped to pave the way for future research by Louis Pasteur (1822-1895). Spallanzani was a creative and endlessly inquisitive researcher who studied subjects in biology as varied as sexual reproduction, blood pressure and echolocation in bats. He is also well known for his forays into other areas of the physical sciences. For instance, he studied lava flows inside an active volcano.
Spallanzani was born in 1729 in Scandiano. A son of a distinguished lawyer, Spallanzani was interested in science at an early age. He was given the nickname, "the astrologer" after he showed an early penchant for astronomy. At the age of fifteen, he attended a Jesuit seminary called Reggio Emilia. Spallanzani declined to join the order (but was eventually ordained) and went to the University of Bologna to study law. However, it turned out to be the natural world that most intrigued Spallanzani, so he began to exclusively pursue that area. He was granted his doctorate in 1754 and returned to the seminary to teach. In 1760 he became professor of physics at the University of Modena.
Although Spallanzani published an article critical of a new translation of the Iliad in 1760, he was a tireless scientific researcher. In 1766 he published a monograph on the mechanics of stones that bounce when thrown obliquely across water. His first published biological work was in 1767. It was a detailed description of hundreds of experiments that refuted the popular idea of spontaneous generation.
The theory of spontaneous generation asserted that living things could come into being without a living predecessor. Georges Buffon (1707-1788) and John Needham (1713-1781) largely championed these theories. They believed that all living things contain, in addition to inanimate matter, special "vital atoms" that are responsible for all physiological activities. After death, these "vital atoms" would escape into the soil and would be taken up by plants. The two men claimed that the small moving objects seen in pond water are not living organisms but merely "vital atoms" escaping from the organic material. Spallanzani designed elegant experiments that helped to support his theory that these were in fact small living microorganisms. In his most famous experiment, Spallanzani showed that a sealed container of boiled broth would not have any microorganisms present, while those that were left unsealed or at room temperature would have evidence of living creatures. He reasoned that if spontaneous generation really took place, then all flasks should have evidence of infestation. These experiments were also significant because they were the basic steps that Louis Pasteur initially followed in order to kill germs in milk without harming the liquid.
The range of Spallanzani's experimental interest expanded. He studied regeneration in a wide range of animals and concluded that lower animals have greater regenerative power than the higher, young individuals have a greater capacity for regeneration than the adults, and generally it is only superficial parts that can regenerate. He also successfully transplanted the head of one snail onto the body of another, investigated the circulation of the blood, did an important series of experiments on digestion, and studied the role of semen in reproduction. While he made the mistake of believing that sperm were actually parasites in the semen, he still made significant contributions in this area.
In 1799, after suffering from an enlarged prostate and a chronic bladder infection, Spallanzani lapsed into a coma and died within a week. His broad legacy laid the foundation for future scientific work and practical applications. As an example, his work lead directly to the practice of pasteurization of milk and the invention of food canning. There have been few scientists that have had an impact on such a wide range of scientific endeavors.
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