Science without laws

At the dawn of the twenty-first century, the face of biology may well be that of a laboratory mouse. Science writers, government agencies, and researchers alike tout the crucial role played by biology's experimental subjects, "model systems" as they are termed, in advancing knowledge. These creatures are not showcased for their appeal -- the flies, mice, worms, and microbes that are the mainstay of laboratory science would be regarded as vermin or germs outside their scientific homes -- but because they have become the locus of producing knowledge about life and disease. To make the case that improving human health rests on our intimate understanding of a select set of rodents, fish, amphibians, microbes, and even a plant, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) features a Web site titled "Model Organisms for Biomedical Research." These are the organisms whose genomes were sequenced as part of the Human Genome...