What are Model Organisms?
28/8/02 By Richard Twyman A model organism is a species that has been widely studied, usually because it is easy to maintain and breed in a laboratory setting and has particular experimental advantages. Over the years, a great deal of data has accumulated about such organisms and this in itself makes them more attractive to study. Model organisms are used to obtain information about other species – including humans – that are more difficult to study directly.
In science, a model organism is an organism often used for study and experiments, and may be considered a representative example of a class of organisms, or have a particularly interesting or easily-studied physiology or psychology. Model organisms are also selected for convenience and fast reproduction. Examples include the bacterium Escherichia coli, the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, fruit flies (Drosophila melanogaster), albino brown rats (Rattus norvegicus, also called “lab rats”), mice (Mus musculus), and humans (Homo sapiens). This is only a short list — in total, there are many dozens of model organisms, from viruses to fungi to plants and both invertebrates and vertebrates. Model organisms have taught scientists, and by extension, the human race, tremendous amounts about biology and psychology. Because of model organisms, we know brains are made of neurons, bodies work in a purely mechanical fashion (rather than being animated by a “vital force,” as argued by Henri Bergson i
