An ambitious plan to map all 37 trillion cells in the human body is transforming understanding of how our bodies work, scientists report. The received wisdom said we were built from around 200 types of cell – such as heart muscle or nerve cells.

Researchers have created an early map of some of the human body’s estimated 37.2 trillion cells. Each type of cell has a unique role, and knowing what all the cells do can help scientists better understand health and diseases such as cancer.

Scientists unveiled on Wednesday the first blueprint of human skeletal development as they make progress toward the goal of completing a biological atlas of every cell type in the body to better understand human health and diagnose and treat disease.

Researchers with the global Human Cell Atlas (HCA) consortium report significant progress in their quest for a better understanding of the cells of the human body in health and disease, with the publication on 20 November of a collection of more than 40 papers in Nature and other Nature Portfolio journals.

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.