Funding Deters Scientists from Developing New Models

In the 1950s, a young psychiatrist sought an animal with neurons large enough for electrophysiology experiments on learning and memory. The animal, Aplysia californica, eventually got dissected in neurobiology labs around the world. The psychiatrist fared a little better; he was awarded the Nobel Prize.

The tale of Eric Kandel and Aplysia, like that of Thomas Hunt Morgan and Drosophila or Sydney Brenner and Caenorhabditis elegans, has become a scientific bedtime story. The moral: Choose the right animal, work very hard, and you, too, may have a legendary career. But Kandel and others say that few scientists will risk experimenting with an untried organism. Skeptical funding agencies, elusive animals, and a potential dearth of appropriate literature discourage young scientists from branching out.

The failure to explore new models is bad for science, Kandel says. "I think because several model systems have emerged as predominant forms, people are not developing new ...