No, cells are not produced from nonliving materials. All cells come from pre-existing cells through the process of cell division. This fundamental principle in biology, known as the Cell Theory, states that the cell is the basic unit of life and all organisms are composed of one or more cells. Cells can only arise by budding off other living cells. Spontaneous generation, the idea that living organisms can spontaneously arise from non-living matter, was a widely held belief until the experiments of Louis Pasteur in the 19th century disproved it.