Francesco Redi – Physician. Within a year of graduating, Redi returned to Florence as physician to Ferdinand II, Grand Duke of Tuscany. Ferdinand was a member of the famous – or infamous – Medici family.

Redi covered the tops of the first group of jars with fine gauze so that only air could get into it. He left the other group open. After several days, he saw maggots appear on the objects in the open jars, on which flies had been able to land, but not in the gauze-covered jars. In the second experiment, meat was kept in three jars.

Francesco Redi Cell Theory Explained. Francesco Redi presented a cell theory which helped to discredit the idea that living things can come from non-living things. Born in Italy, his 17th century experiments were just one aspect of his life.

Redi concluded maggots came from living flies, not from rotting meat or from dead flies or maggots. The experiments with maggots and flies were important not only because they refuted spontaneous generation, but also because they used control groups, applying the scientific method to test a hypothesis.

Francesco Redi was an Italian naturalist, physician, and poet. Besides Galileo, he was one of the most important scientists who challenged Aristotle ‘s traditional study of science. Redi gained fame for his controlled experiments.

Francesco Redi was an Italian scientist most famous for his experimental work that refuted the spontaneous generation theory. His experiment with meat in glass containers was one of the earliest controlled experiments. Francesco Redi was an Italian scientist born in Arezzo on February 18, 1626.