Human Cells Atlas Project: Bringing Together The Community of World-Leadings Scientist In Mapping Out All Human Cells That Would Revolutionize The Biomedicine

By Theena - 19 Oct '16 15:29PM
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A collaborative community of world-leadings scientist have a meeting in London on 13 and 14 of October discussing how they will going to build this "Human Cells Atlas ", this is a collection of maps that will describe and define every cell in the human body whether healthy or diseased. 

The discovery of the "single-cell genomics" pushed these scientists to put this ambitious goal of mapping out all human cells within reach.

This project will enable us to realistically envision and comprehensively understand the human cellular in terms of health and diagnosing, monitoring and treating disease. It will really empower the global research community and impact biology and medicine.

Challenges in Biomedicine without Human Cells Atlas

Cell is the basic unit of life yet we know little about it. Do you know how many cells do we have in our body and how important it is? 

Like a map, it helps us be in the right direction and without it we will be lost and as well as without maps of different cell types, where they are located in the body, and the genes they express, we cannot describe all cellular activities and understand the biological networks that direct them.

"The cell is the key to understanding the biology of health and disease, but we are currently limited in our understanding of how cells differ across each organ, or even how many cell types there are in the body," said Sarah Teichmann, Head of Cellular Genetics at the Sanger Institute.

Status of Human Cells Atlas Project

The London meeting will help establish the first phase of the initiative. They already have a funding commitment from the Chan-Zuckeberg Initiative. The company that aims to cure, prevent or manage all disease by the end of this century.

"The Human Cell Atlas would be a transformative technology that advances all of science," CZI President Cori Bargmann told the assembled researchers. 

A new era on human cellular understanding is about to unfold once the "Human Cells Atlas" project has been completed.

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