ORCHESTRA

Any model, such as animal models (also called in vivo) or cellular models (in vitro models), is a system which applies to a specific situation, and simplifies a complex system, which cannot be used experimentally for investigation. For instance, in case of toxicity studies, the target is human health, and for environmental studies the target may be a certain ecosystem. In practice, all current models simplify the final target. The rabbit model will never replace the human being, and similarly the trout used in a tank cannot replace the complex environmental system where many different fishes, and animal, and environmental conditions exist. Methods like in vitro and in silico models are often called alternative methods, because they can be used as alternative to animal models. In addition, these methods can be used to provide further information, to better address the final target: human beings and environment. Thus, it would be reductive to see in silico methods simply as surrogate of animal models.

The comparison and integration of in vivo, in vitro and in silico, have been discussed during the workshop organized by the EC funded project RAINBOW.