The theory that life on Earth originated from non-living chemical matter through natural processes, without any living organism being involved.
From Greek a- (not) + bios (life) + genesis (beginning, origin). First used in the 19th century by scientists studying how life could begin from lifeless chemicals.
Before we understood DNA and chemistry, people thought living things could spontaneously pop into existence from mud—abiogenesis is the modern scientific version of that idea, except it's carefully backed by chemistry and energy sources like lightning or hydrothermal vents.
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