Abstract
This paper explores the epistemology of extrapolation from model organisms
to humans in molecular medicine. We take into account two common views on the issue, the
homology view and the disanalogy view. In response to both interpretations, we argue that
the foundational basis of extrapolations cannot simply be provided by homology and that
relevant disanalogies can, thanks to the techniques of molecular biology, be experimentally
controlled and exploited to allow useful and reliable extrapolations. The case of "humanised
mice" in the context of cancer stem cell research provides evidence of how animal models
can be construed to approximate bona fide causal analogue models of human diseases. To
supplement this view we show how the epistemology of model organisms needs to take
into account the engineering side of molecular medicine. Model organisms are often
manipulated to create analogies or remove disanalogies with the target system. We maintain
that highlighting this feature is fundamental to explain what warrants extrapolation in the search for the molecular causes of disease