The new technologies developed in the “omics” fields, such as genomics, proteomics, metagenomics and metabolomics, have given scientists the opportunity to systematically study the building blocks of life. In the coming decades these data-driven studies will result in historic mapping of the molecular components of human beings and other organisms. This can be compared with the identification of the building blocks of chemistry in the 19th century, which gave us the periodic system, and the study of the minutest particles in physics the following century. It is likely that the 21st century will be the era in which the components of life are charted in the same way. The publication of the human genome early this century naturally marks the start of this development.
Swedish researchers have played a key role in these studies in several ways by developing innovative and globally unique tools. Sweden has also been a pioneer in studies of human components, not least thanks to the ambitious mapping of human proteins in the “Human Protein Atlas” project, funded by Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation.
The long-term value of this research is a deeper understanding of gene function, tissue biology, embryonic development and the course of disease. So the field is also important for more applied research, for example development of new therapeutics.