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Some roles and advantages of theoretical models in biology
Provide a unified theoretical framework accounting for available experimental observations, that corroborates or not experimental conclusions.
Conceptualization leads to clarification of hypotheses.
Analyze complex situations involving multiple, coupled variables, for which it becomes impossible to rely only on sheer intuition.
Models show that certain types of behavior only occur in precise conditions, in a domain bounded by critical parameter values, in contrast to what may be predicted by merely verbal descriptions.
Determine the qualitative and quantitative effects of each parameter and identify key parameters.
Rapid exploration of different mechanisms and of large ranges of conditions.
Possibility to ask questions which may be inaccessible to experiments or hard to address experimentally.
Testable predictions: suggestion of experiments, which will either validate the model or call for its modification.
Optimal situation: provide counterintuitive explanations or surprising predictions.
Mathematical structure underlines link with similar phenomena in other contexts.
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