Laboratory species: do we know a great deal about very little?

At present, there are almost 2,000,000 species described, and it is estimated that there could be a total of around 10 million on the planet. The model organisms, in contrast, number no more than one, two or three dozen, and represent a tiny proportion of the biodiversity of life. Their use in the laboratory provides advantages because, as there are a wide range of techniques available, as well as people devoted to researching them, they enable scientists to obtain in-depth knowledge of the organism. However, this situation also presents disadvantages, unanswered questions and paradoxes. In this first dialogue, we will be discussing issues such as whether we know virtually everything or almost nothing about organisms, and whether this knowledge can be extrapolated to all the rest of the living creatures.

Cycle: Nature in the laboratory: biological knowledge and its biases

Organized by: Residence for Researchers CSIC-Generalitat of Catalonia