Researchers Get an Updated Look at the Human Cell Atlas

Good news!

However, nature is woke too (see second figure below)!

"In 2016, biologists Aviv Regev and Sarah Teichmann launched an initiative with around 100 other scientists. They set themselves the monumentally ambitious goal of cataloguing every cell type in the human body, from development to old age. That amounts to mapping the body’s estimated 37.2 trillion cells. ..."

"... This week, that initiative, the Human Cell Atlas (HCA), is releasing a collection of studies that represent a significant step towards assembling a first draft atlas. Thanks to some 9,000 donors around the world, the HCA teams now have data on around 62 million human cells, categorized according to 18 biological networks — including maps of cells in the nervous system, lungs, heart, gut and immune system. ..."

From the perspective abstract:

"With the convergence in exciting advances in molecular and spatial profiling methods and new computational approaches leveraging artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI/ML), the construction of cell atlases is progressing from data collection to atlas integration and beyond. Here, we explore five ways in which cell atlases, including the Human Cell Atlas, are already revealing valuable biological insights, and how they are poised to provide even greater benefits in the coming years. In particular, we discuss cell atlases as censuses of cells; as 3D maps of cells in the body, across modalities and scales; as maps connecting genotype causes to phenotype effects; as 4D maps of development; and, ultimately, as foundation models of biology unifying all these aspects and helping to transform medicine."

Researchers Get an Updated Look at the Human Cell Atlas - Human Progress

A ‘Wikipedia for cells’: researchers get an updated look at the Human Cell Atlas, and it’s remarkable "Coming less than a decade after its launch, the studies emerging from the global project are a major achievement. Funders should sign up for the long haul."

The Human Cell Atlas: towards a first draft atlas "In a collection of research articles and related content, the Human Cell Atlas consortium presents tools, data and ideas towards the generation of their first draft atlas of cells in the human body."

The Human Cell Atlas from a cell census to a unified foundation model (no public access)

The 18 Biological Networks

The HCA data portal currently hosts data from approximately 62 million cells collected from around 9,100 donors. To facilitate data integration, the consortium is constructing 18 HCA Biological Network Atlases, as shown in this diagram. Each network consolidates all available HCA data related to individual tissues or organs. To date, draft atlases from three networks — lung, nervous system and eye — have been assembled by HCA researchers collaborating globally with other consortia. The papers in this collection represent significant progress in assembling these Biological Network Atlases.

Cringe!!!

Pioneer of Human Cell Atlas explains why it's a milestone

Good news! The Human Cell Atlas, a moonshot project of our time, still in its infancy, but rapidly making progress. 

One of the reference datasets released in conjunction with the Human Cell Atlas is titled "The Tabula Sapiens" probably alluding to tabula rasa and sapience!

"... Starting about a decade ago, a group of scientists began conducting a cellular census of every tissue in the human body to find out what cells actually live there, using a powerful new technology called single-cell RNA sequencing. It illuminates which parts of the genome a cell uses to conduct its unique task. The international collaborative effort, called the Human Cell Atlas, has since grown to include more than 2,000 researchers from 83 countries. And on Thursday, they reported a major feat: the creation of detailed maps of more than a million cells across 33 organs. The landmark tissue atlases were published in four studies in Science. “You can think of it as a Google Maps of the human body,” ..."

"... These complementary multi-tissue cell atlases will contribute towards a single Human Cell Atlas and have many therapeutic implications including informing our understanding of common and rare diseases, vaccine development, anti-tumour immunology and regenerative medicine. ..."

Pioneer of Human Cell Atlas explains why it's a milestone - STAT

Multi-Tissue Cell Atlases Lead To Leap Of Understanding Of Immunity And Disease Milestone step towards the Human Cell Atlas goal of mapping every human cell type