Landmark single-cell dataset of one billion cells
will be used to train new AI models to advance researchers'
understanding of cellular behavior and gene function
REDWOOD CITY, Calif. ,
Feb. 6,
2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, the Chan Zuckerberg
Initiative (CZI) launched the Billion Cells Project, an effort to
generate an unprecedented one billion cell dataset to fuel rapid
progress in AI model development in biology. CZI is embarking on
this landmark initiative in collaboration with partners 10x
Genomics, Ultima Genomics, and a group of leading researchers.
Industry partners are enabling data generation at unprecedented
scale by increasing access to cutting-edge technologies and
lowering costs.
Once completed, this single-cell data set will bring critical
new data and resolution to multiple domains of biology that need
comprehensive resources such as mapping genetic perturbations
across diverse cell types and tissues. Critically, the scale and
cohesion of the data made possible by current and future
contributions to the Billion Cells Project will deliver the volume
of data with greater consistency than past efforts to better enable
researchers to train AI models and make transformative discoveries
across precision medicine and functional genomics.
"CZI's Billion Cells Project illustrates the power of
collaboration to make previously unfathomable amounts of
single-cell data available for researchers, which will help clarify
our understanding of the fundamental biology underpinning human
health and disease while supercharging efforts at the intersection
of AI and biology," said Jonah Cool,
Cell Science Senior Science Program Officer at CZI. "Biology not
only needs more data – the field needs more data faster and in
interoperable formats to support AI models that address specific
problems, and this project represents a unique approach to scaling
and standardizing scientific outputs for AI and more."
CZI is the only philanthropic organization to fund and build one
of the largest computing systems dedicated to nonprofit life
sciences research in the world. Data generated from the Billion
Cells Project will be used to train new virtual cell models using
CZI's computing system to derive greater insight into the vast
dataset. As part of its commitment to open science to accelerate
research and make science more inclusive, CZI plans to make the
results from this initiative open source and freely available to
help scientists around the world make new discoveries about human
biology.
To rapidly generate data at a massive scale, increase knowledge
sharing, and drive collaboration, CZI is partnering with an initial
cohort of experts in the single-cell field and developers of
innovative life science technologies. This partnership prioritizes
data generation across diverse biological domains, with initial
data sets including organisms such as mouse, zebrafish, and primary
human cell models. These data will provide researchers immediate
insight into areas that include gene regulation and function across
organisms, and insights directly related to disease research.
"This project will provide a necessary scale of data to
understand the functional effects of human genetic variants and
characterize the genetic drivers of human disease," said
Alexander Marson, Director of the
Gladstone-UCSF Institute of Genomic Immunology and collaborator.
"Ultimately, the Billion Cells Project will also be a functional
roadmap to guide drug development, identifying targets to restore
diseased cells to health."
This collaboration will use 10x Genomics' Chromium GEM-X
technology for single-cell analysis. Launched in 2024, the GEM-X
technology architecture delivers superior sensitivity, throughput,
data quality, and cell recovery to improve robustness and enable
single-cell analysis at larger scale and lower cost.
"We are constantly working to push the boundaries of what's
possible in single-cell analysis, and this collaboration with CZI
and Ultima Genomics represents a significant leap forward," said
Michael Schnall-Levin, Founding
Scientist and Chief Technology Officer at 10x Genomics. "This
collaboration exemplifies how the convergence of life sciences
technologies and AI can accelerate the mastery of biology and
ultimately transform human health."
Sequencing will be performed on the UG 100™, an ultra-high
throughput next-generation sequencing (NGS) platform developed by
Ultima Genomics. The UG 100's unique wafer-based sequencing
architecture enables high throughput and ultra-low-cost, making the
platform well-suited for large-scale 'omics applications and the
generation of genomic data at an unprecedented scale.
"Our mission is to continuously increase the scale and lower the
costs of genomic information, and our UG 100 platform helps fulfill
that vision by enabling high throughput generation of large-scale
data omics sets at low costs," said Gilad Almogy, Founder and CEO
of Ultima Genomics. "Initiatives like the Billion Cells Project
showcase advances enabled by our innovative sequencing architecture
combined with the emerging advances in AI and machine learning will
enable a transformational approach to research that will accelerate
scientific discovery and our understanding of biology's
complexity."
These ambitious projects are made possible by collaborations
across industry partners and serve as a template for future
collaborations. As the Billion Cells Project progresses, additional
partnerships with industry and academia are anticipated to ensure
delivery of the ambition of the project on a short timescale.
About the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative
The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative was founded in 2015 to help solve
some of society's toughest challenges — from eradicating disease
and improving education, to addressing the needs of our local
communities. Our mission is to build a more inclusive, just, and
healthy future for everyone. For more information, please visit
chanzuckerberg.com.
About 10x Genomics
10x Genomics (NASDAQ: TXG) is a life science technology
company building products to accelerate the mastery of biology and
advance human health. Our integrated solutions include instruments,
consumables and software for single cell and spatial biology, which
help academic and translational researchers and biopharmaceutical
companies understand biological systems at a resolution and scale
that matches the complexity of biology. Our products are behind
breakthroughs in oncology, immunology, neuroscience and more,
fueling powerful discoveries that are transforming the world's
understanding of health and disease. To learn more,
visit 10xgenomics.com or connect with us
on LinkedIn or X (Twitter).
About Ultima Genomics
Ultima Genomics is unleashing the power of genomics at scale.
The Company's mission is to continuously drive the scale of genomic
information to enable unprecedented advances in biology and
improvements in human health. With humanity on the cusp of a
biological revolution, there is a virtually endless need for more
genomic information to address biology's complexity and dynamic
change—and a further need to challenge conventional next-generation
sequencing technologies. Ultima's revolutionary new sequencing
architecture drives down the costs of sequencing to help overcome
the tradeoffs that scientists and clinicians are forced to make
between the breadth, depth and frequency with which they use
genomic information. The new sequencing architecture was designed
to scale far beyond conventional sequencing technologies, lower the
cost of genomic information and catalyze the next phase of genomics
in the 21st century. To learn more, visit
www.ultimagenomics.com/.
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SOURCE Chan Zuckerberg Initiative
