Human Cell Atlas project transforms understanding of human body

Another discovery showed how the human skeleton forms in the womb in the weeks after conception.

First a scaffold of cartilage, like the wobbly bit on the end of your nose, forms. Then bone cells grow over it. This happens everywhere except for the very top of the skull to give the brain space to grow.

Some of the genetic instructions involved in orchestrating this early developmental process are the same ones implicated in osteoarthritis decades later.

“Ultimately, using this atlas could help us better understand the conditions of both the young and ageing skeleton,” said Dr Ken To, from the Wellcome Sanger Institute.

A similar study looked at the thymus – a small organ involved in training the immune system. Researchers showed this process started much earlier than previously thought suggesting the earliest stages of pregnancy could have an impact on immune function for life.

It also gives ideas for engineering new immune-cell-based therapies in the laboratory for fighting diseases such as a cancer.

Another example of the Human Cell Atlas in action came during the Covid pandemic when the detailed maps of the body allowed scientists to anticipate how the virus would move from tissue to tissue, external and identified the nose, mouth and eyes as key entry points to the body.

Dr Katrina Gold, from the Wellcome Trust medical research funder, said today’s announcements were a “true milestone for the Human Cell Atlas”.

“When complete, it could transform the ways we diagnose, monitor and treat diseases,” she said.