Life in the lab, are model organisms an asset or impediment to biology? (Ep 87)

<p>What are model organisms? Why have they been so important to biology?</p> <p>Much of biological research over the past 50 years has relied on model organisms. These species – which include mice, rats, fruit flies, and others – have yielded many insights and led to the development of better molecular tools and a scientific culture centered on sharing. At the same time, the money and effort devoted to model organisms may have undermined work on a broader diversity of species, more representative of life as a whole. In this episode, we talk with <a href="https://sociology.exeter.ac.uk/staff/leonelli/" target="_blank"><u>Sabina Leonelli</u></a> and <a href="https://researchers.adelaide.edu.au/profile/rachel.ankeny" target="_blank"><u>Rachel Ankeny</u></a>, two philosophers of biology, about the history of model organisms and the positives and negatives of studying them.</p> <p>Sabina Leonelli is a professor and director of the Exeter Center for the Study of Life Sciences. Rachel Ankeny is a professor in the School of Humanities at the University of Adelaide. They are also authors of the book <a href="https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108593014" target="_blank"><u>Model Organisms</u></a>, a philosophical exploration of the concept of the 'model organism' in contemporary biology.</p>