Science & technology | The Human Cell Atlas

A cartography of human histology is in the making

It will identify and locate every type of cell in the human body

Pulmonary ionocytes (orange) extend through neighboring epithelial cells in the upper respiratory tract of the mouse, to the surface of the epithelial lining; cell nuclei in cyan. Image credit: Montoro et al./Nature 2018 — Image: Montoro et al./Nature 2018

Mar 8th 2023|Washington, DC

What gets hyped, and what remains neglected, often depends on good storytelling. When the Human Genome Project began, in 1990, it had a simple story, well told. From a standing start, American taxpayers would pay for an exhaustive map of the DNA that makes up the 24 sorts of chromosomes found in the human genome (women have 23; men possess an extra tiddler that carries the genetic switch for maleness). Others were welcome to join in (and did; a third of the work was done in Britain, paid for by the Wellcome Trust), and there would be international co-ordination, to stop duplication of effort. But the moving spirit was the American government. And the budget was measured in billions.

This article appeared in the Science & technology section of the print edition under the headline “Worlds within, worlds without”