Alternate Life Theories

There have been many arguments about how and when animals and life organisms first

appeared on planet Earth; some dating back to medieval times. With these different theories, many

people aren’t sure which one is closest to the truth. Both Spontaneous Generation and the Bubble

Theory are theories that have to do with this problem; with much research, I have come to a consensus

that the Bubble theory is much more likely.

One of the earliest and most believed theory was created in medieval times: Spontaneous

generation. This theory states that when there is a pile of garbage or any other type of rotting material,

the nutrients can create a sudden appearance of certain animals, such as insects, amphibians and mice.

Since most scientists didn’t conduct experiments at that time, this theory seemed very logical to most

people at the time.

Since they did not do many experiments, many scientists came up with some different instances

that made their theory seem believable — many of these that we can easily contradict now. For

example, when the Nile River flooded, there was always a lot of mud that contained a lot of different

nutrients. Many frogs lived in this mud, so it seemed as if they appeared out of nowhere. Also, back

then, cities were very dirty and unsanitary, so people just threw their garbage out the window. All of this

rotting trash made a very nice home for different critters, making it seem like mice and rodents would

just pop out of the garbage.

We now know that these different examples can be proved wrong easily, but that is due to two

scientists from the earlier centuries: Francesco Redi and Louis Pasteur. Redi didn’t believe that this

theory made much sense, so he conducted an experiment with flies. Since flies were one of the animals

that were believed to be able to appear out of nowhere, he tried to prove that wrong by showing that

flies are able to reproduce by laying eggs. Pasteur also didn’t believe that Spontaneous Generation was

possible, so he also conducted an experiment; he put different nutrients in two containers – one that

did contain air and one that didn’t – when there wasn’t any life that appeared in either of them, he

stated that Spontaneous Generation couldn’t be possible.

Finding out that the theory they always believed was wrong, many people were very confused. The main

question being asked by them was, If Spontaneous Generation isn’t possible, how did we get the first life

organism? All over the world, scientist were out to answer that question, but Charles Darwin’s theory

was accepted by the most people. He believed that Spontaneous Generation was possible, but that it

only happened once, a very long time ago. After this, he thought different animals were able to evolve

from this one life organism.

After stating this theory, the world’s scientists were trying to see if this theory really could have

worked. One thought that helped prove that this theory really was believable was that if there was only

one organism to start out with, there wouldn’t have been any competition for food or water. Some

scientists still didn’t believe that Spontaneous Generation wasn’t possible, but Darwin’s evolution theory

was. Others argued that without it, the evolution theory wouldn’t be possible.

Numerous people are starting to believe Darwin’s theories with more and more research. Even

though it may seem like the only possible idea, there are many other theories that have been created.

One of the most believable of the others is the bubble theory; it states that there were bubbles in the

oceans full of aerosol, atmospheric counterparts and precipitation droplets. They were created from

organic material that was put into the sea, and slowly concentrated into bubbles. When they rose to the

top of the water and burst, they contained life cells.

Both Darwin’s theory and the Bubble theory have something to do with the amount of nutrients

in an object that work together to create a life cell or an animal. To many people, Darwin’s theory seems

more possible because it is simpler to understand, but when you look at the facts, the Bubble theory

seems more realistic. First of all, they know almost exactly what type of gases and nutrients were in the

bubbles and are able to thoroughly explain what they thought happened. While with Darwin’s theory, it

seems too simple to happened the way scientists explain it.

With more and more research, it has become clear which theories make sense and which do

not. Though it may seem easier to take the easy way out and go with the less complicated theory, doing

so will only deprive you of being able to see the others and their true potential. To truly understand the

universe and its different life forms, one must understand all the theories and be able to pick out the

most logical of them.