During the nineteenth century, Schwann, Schleiden, and Virchow were credited with the creation of cell theory. Two important points of cell theory are that the cell is the basic unit of life, and that cells come from other cells. Why was this finding so important?
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a
They proved that spontaneous generation does not occur.
b
They proved that genetic adaptivity happens over time.
c
They proved that cells have an increasingly complicated hierarchy.
d
They proved that the cell is the smallest structure in an organism.
The correct answer is: a) They proved that spontaneous generation does not occur.
This finding was important because it disproved the widely accepted theory of spontaneous generation, which stated that living organisms could arise from non-living matter. The cell theory provided evidence that all living things are made up of cells and that cells can only come from pre-existing cells. This was a major step in the development of modern biology and our understanding of the fundamental building blocks of life.