May 15, 2009 (Vol. 29, No. 10)

URL:
http://www.nih.gov/science/models

Rating:
Strong Points: Clarity of information, links to other resources
Weak Points: Some organisms don’t have much information

Summary:
What do a frog, a filamentous fungus, and a water flea have in common? They are all model organisms for biomedical research. This aptly named site through the NIH brings all model organisms into the spotlight—so move over, mouse and zebrafish! The website profiles 13 model organisms, explaining why each has been used in biomedical research, and in what capacity. (Who knew that the water flea has been the star of biological investigations for over a century?) For many of the organisms, there are additional links to sequence databases and other species-specific resources. The only “work in progress” organism appears to be budding yeast, for which there is not yet any information listed. Aside from that, though, the site seems to have model organisms covered, from Arabidopsis to zebrafish.

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