[New Entry by Michael Dietrich and Nedah Nemati on July 24, 2026.]
Model organisms are a widely used component of contemporary biology and biomedicine. Although the term “model organism” gained formal recognition with the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in 2000 [Other Internet Resources], it has a longer history and has become increasingly widespread in both the sciences and philosophy. Today, definitions of model organisms vary, including which organisms considered count as model organisms. While biologists conceive of model organisms as experimental tools, philosophers have increasingly…

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