Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • NEWS AND VIEWS

A molecular handbook for human development

A large-scale, high-resolution cell atlas of gene expression and regulation in human embryos enables innovative investigation of development through multi‑organ and multi‑modal analysis.
  1. Felicia Kuperwaser

    1. Felicia Kuperwaser is at the Institute for Computational Medicine, New York University, Grossman School of Medicine, New York, New York 10016, USA.

    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed  Google Scholar

  2. Itai Yanai

    1. Itai Yanai is at the Institute for Computational Medicine, New York University, Grossman School of Medicine, New York, New York 10016, USA.

    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed  Google Scholar

Charles Darwin developed his theory of natural selection by comparing features between individuals and species. A comparative approach is also crucial to establish the cellular taxonomy that underlies human physiology. Technological advances in single-cell genomics have facilitated the production of numerous cell atlases that, through comparative analysis, define the full set of cells that constitute a system of interest — usually a whole organ1. Extending the scope of an atlas from organ to whole organism increases the power of this approach by capturing data across physiological systems. To this end, two papers in Science present the comprehensive molecular characterization of cell types across nearly all organs during human fetal development2,3. They reveal previously unidentified cell subtypes, and define cell-differentiation pathways through analysis of gene expression and chromatin (the DNA–protein complex into which a cell’s genetic material is packaged).

Access options

Rent or buy this article

Get just this article for as long as you need it

$39.95

Learn more

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Nature 590, 43-44 (2021)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-021-00142-8

References

  1. Aldridge, S. & Teichmann, S. A. Nature Commun. 11, 4307 (2020).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  2. Cao, J. et al. Science 370, eaba7721 (2020).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  3. Domcke, S. et al. Science 370, eaba7612 (2020).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. Cao, J. et al. Nature 566, 496–502 (2019).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Subjects

Latest on:

Nature Careers

Jobs

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing

Search

Advanced search

Quick links