What Are Model Organisms and Why Do We Use Them in Biology Research?

How do scientists discover new things about living organisms, like a new life pathway or a cycle? They do it using model organisms. Model organisms, which are simple organisms that have important similarities with humans, help with many discoveries in biology. Model organisms are readily available and easy to grow in the lab. The remarkable advances made in healthcare and modern medicine are mainly due to model organisms. Scientists use model organisms to learn about human biology simply because research on humans is both difficult and in some cases is not appropriate or ethical. With model organisms, things ranging from one tiny cell to an entire system (like a single celled bacterium to a multicellular organism such as mouse) can be studied. This article introduces the most popular plant, invertebrate, and vertebrate model organisms used in research labs today.