What makes a model organism a model organism?
Not just fame or a genome, but versatility: standardized organisms (Drosophila, Xenopus, Arabidopsis) support many targets and strategies over time (T-scope and S-scope).
Source
Modeling versatility as the hallmark of model organisms
What they did
The authors place model organisms at the centre of biomedical practice, distinguish insights they yield from other experimental organisms, and analyse diachronic target versatility and related scopes, noting compatibility with Larraín on representational power.
What they found
Versatility is grounded in the fact that model organisms are standardized — material, integrated systems with evolutionary history. That is why they are heuristically and explanatorily central, and why their insights differ from those of non-model experimental organisms.
The limits
What it doesn't show
This is philosophy of scientific practice, not a new fly experiment. It does not rank every species.
Key terms
- Model organism
- A standardized living system (e.g. Drosophila, Xenopus, Arabidopsis) used across many problems.
- Modeling versatility
- The hallmark: capacity to model many targets and support many strategies, including over time.
- Standardized organism
- A material, integrated system with an evolutionary history, not a mere reagent.
- T-scope / S-scope
- The paper’s dimensions of target versatility and strategy versatility.
Flashcards
Research intelligence for this paper
See its role on concept claims, tensions it is part of, placement history, and related discoveries.
Quiz yourself
Hallmark of model organisms?
Common questions
Hallmark?
Modeling versatility, grounded in standardisation.
Examples?
Fruit fly, African clawed frog, thale cress.
Different from other experimental organisms?
The epistemic insights gained differ — that is a live philosophical question they address via versatility.
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