Spallanzani, Lazzaro

Spallanzani, Lazzaro (läd'dzärō späl-läntsä'nē) [key], 1729–99, Italian naturalist. He was professor at the universities of Modena (1763–69) and Pavia (from 1769). Spallanzani studied regeneration, fertilization, and the digestive action of saliva; using heat-sterilized cultures, he performed experiments that disproved J. T. Needham's theory of spontaneous generation.

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2007, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

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