In the 16th century, the Belgian cartographer Abraham Ortelius created the world\u2019s first modern atlas \u2014 a collection of maps that he called \u201cThe Theater of the World.\u201d The maps, drawn by Ortelius and others, detailed what was at the time the best knowledge of the world\u2019s continents, cities, mountains, rivers, lakes and oceans and helped usher in a new understanding of global geography.<\/p>\n
Similarly, the creation of cell atlases \u2014 maps of organs and bodies constructed cell by cell \u2014 is heralding a new era in our understanding of biology. Powerful sequencing and imaging technologies invented in the last decade are revealing with unprecedented detail the composition of human organs and tissues, from the pancreas and liver to the placenta, as well as those of other animals like the mouse and fruit fly. With these new tools, researchers can fingerprint individual cells based on which genes they are expressing. That information has revealed subtle and unsuspected distinctions among cells and has begun to illuminate how the diversity of cell types can be essential to the healthy functioning of organs.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re at this amazing point in time in science where we\u2019re now able to understand the composition of these cell types,\u201d said Steve Quake, a bioengineer and biophysicist at Stanford University who helped develop the technologies that make cell atlases possible. \u201cIt\u2019s changed the way we understand how human biology works.\u201d<\/p>\n
Read it all<\/a>.<\/p>\n .@QuantaMagazine<\/a>: "New Cell Atlases Reveal Untold Variety in the Brain and Beyond"<\/p>\n ✍️ @yasemin_sap<\/a>#studyBRAIN<\/a> #BICCN<\/a> @USBrainAlliance<\/a>https:\/\/t.co\/S1M3aH820s<\/a><\/p>\n — Allen Institute (@AllenInstitute) December 13, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n \n