![](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/null31b4ef71-079e-4c2a-8e33-a65d1c8a3816/Atlas_of_Cell_AIH19.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&q=80&rect=0%2C0%2C1600%2C900&w=800)
Aspen Lecture: An Atlas of Human Cells
![](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/null31b4ef71-079e-4c2a-8e33-a65d1c8a3816/Atlas_of_Cell_AIH19.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&q=80&rect=0%2C0%2C1600%2C900&w=2000)
Our ability to understand biology really just leaps over this huge hurdle of variability that we’ve had in the past.
Full Session
![](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/null31b4ef71-079e-4c2a-8e33-a65d1c8a3816/Atlas_of_Cell_AIH19.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&q=80&rect=0%2C0%2C1600%2C900&w=100)
Featured Highlights
Setup
When it is complete, the Human Cell Atlas will be a comprehensive searchable map of our cells — a “Google map for the human body.” By combining elegant science and painstaking work in the trenches, the Atlas will portray the basic unit of life in all its staggering diversity, including every cellular subtype, how one type of cell can become another type, which genes are switched on by which cells, and how the environment influences it all. Aviv Regev, the leading evangelist for the project, talks about the ambition and promise of this remarkable tool of personalized medicine. (Underwritten by Helmsley Charitable Trust)
Explore More
Health
![10 Newsmaking Conversations from Aspen Ideas: Health 2024](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/58daefc2-333d-4d2e-b5b1-8ca0d98462be/240620_reception_001.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=267&q=80&rect=0%2C0%2C4000%2C2667&w=400)
From the debate over reproductive rights to the epidemic of gun violence to the youth mental health crisis, this year's Aspen Ideas: Health sessions tackled many of today's mo...
![Are We Alone Out There?](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/336d1ff6-e32b-4ca0-9bac-94dacbf8959b/53825023100_e70fda2b21_o.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=225&q=80&rect=1%2C526%2C7912%2C4451&w=400)
For as long as humans have looked at the skies, we’ve speculated about whether there is life in space. Scientists, the U.S. military and the CIA have all searched for proof of...
![Sci-Fi or Reality? Talking Tomorrow’s Climate Tech](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/67c1104a-0ac3-459e-9a92-d199aebe8b33/53821312503_cbf498aa31_o.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=225&q=80&rect=0%2C0%2C4651%2C2618&w=400)
It sounds like sci-fi: Scientists are beaming solar energy from space, subbing seaweed for plastic and brightening clouds to reflect sunlight to lower temperatures in a warmin...
![Amazon Presents: How AI is Transforming Health Care](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/88dd2ba6-9d8d-4355-911f-e75f1e164753/240627_ai_healthcare_013.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=225&q=80&rect=0%2C208%2C4000%2C2250&w=400)
Artificial intelligence is revolutionizing health care by improving patient navigation, telehealth and the speed of drug development. From enhancing patient and provider exper...
![Wolves at Our Doorstep](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/e1dea645-24a8-4bc1-bf3f-cabf0ac8e4c9/53821142190_64419f7b41_o.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=600&q=80&rect=2074%2C0%2C3542%2C5313&w=400)
*No food or service animals allowed in this session.* The creator of Fat Bear Week in Alaska gives insight on the importance of wildlife education, and then ecologists unpack...
![Mount Sinai Presents: Brain-Computer Interface Revolution](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/1f033dc8-4086-4ae8-9f58-448c89ffc1df/240625_braincomputer_009.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=225&q=80&rect=0%2C207%2C4000%2C2250&w=400)
Brain-computer interfaces show potential to restore function to people impacted by incurable neurological conditions such as stroke, spinal cord injury, traumatic brain injury...
![New Leash on Life: Is Dog Longevity the Key to Ours?](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/0f295343-3b10-40c3-8312-5a0c4af71e36/53816698821_21be040805_o.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=225&q=80&rect=0%2C430%2C8256%2C4644&w=400)
Scientists are developing life-extending drugs for dogs, and new advancements could bring them to market by 2025. Two leaders working to slow the aging process for Fido discus...
![Creating a World With People on the Spectrum](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/8283e9fe-6c1f-4f23-babe-0006cbcedd33/53816186173_f986a725ce_o.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=225&q=80&rect=1%2C177%2C4616%2C2597&w=400)
Neurodivergent people make up 15% to 20% of the global population, and visionaries are busy trying to foster welcoming environments in areas like adaptive sports, fashion des...
![Prudential Financial Presents: What Living to 100 Means for Work and Wealth](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/fceaec56-d6ae-43f2-9e24-6983a3cdfe40/workandhealth.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=600&q=80&rect=581%2C0%2C2071%2C3101&w=400)
Across the globe, humans are living and working longer than ever — and today’s systems, governments and businesses aren’t prepared. Examine how we can reimagine work, wealth a...
![Are We Ready For Pandemic X?](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/05b0d43e-1ff9-4d23-9735-aee253157755/53814590409_91983fd81a_o.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=225&q=80&rect=0%2C430%2C8256%2C4644&w=400)
Given what we learned from the global turbulence from COVID-19, are we any more prepared for the next pandemic? Author and journalist Michael Lewis and Adar Poonawalla, CEO of...
![Francis Collins on Science and Faith](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/6bfedb4f-4e98-45ef-a03c-fdc78698e0d5/53811234024_81d87a8491_o.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=225&q=80&rect=0%2C0%2C5843%2C3289&w=400)
Few people are more deeply steeped in science than Francis Collins, former director of the National Institutes of Health and the groundbreaking Human Genome Project, and forme...
![Opening Session](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/1f2484f0-d150-44fd-b0ae-ec935f872503/53812209110_c88799a760_o.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=225&q=80&rect=0%2C178%2C4565%2C2568&w=400)
Part 1. Contrary to Popular Opinion — Bill Maher in Real Time: The iconoclastic host of HBO’s “Real Time with Bill Maher” sits down with Tina Brown to talk about calling out...
![Closing the Climate Gap for Girls and Women](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/7c58f9e1-944f-43e1-91a6-70ea591b4afe/53811270499_6a024c72b2_o.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=600&q=80&rect=873%2C0%2C2258%2C3380&w=400)
Climate change is a threat multiplier with a disproportionate impact on vulnerable populations. Girls and women, who are denied equitable access to education and economic oppo...
![Aspen Ideas: Health Closing Session](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/43030c8f-3f87-43e9-a2a1-f35ca0aab1c1/240623_closing_010.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=225&q=80&rect=0%2C43%2C4000%2C2250&w=400)
Featuring inspiring conversations, the closing session is not to be missed. First, U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy and Jennifer Ashton of ABC News explore the loneliness epi...
![How Genetic Data is Transforming Cancer and Other Diseases](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/c09328de-b753-47f7-b77f-ba466819b598/53810267133_dbec28571d_o.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=225&q=80&rect=0%2C0%2C4651%2C2618&w=400)
The idea of gathering DNA samples into a vast database in order to identify disease risks and breakthrough therapies was once a distant dream. Not long ago, immunotherapy seem...
![Future of Fertility](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/4ce6ce5f-14f3-471f-8f35-5625cdc6f749/53808730334_2d0d8e8b97_o.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=225&q=80&rect=0%2C0%2C5209%2C2928&w=400)
From in vitro fertilization (IVF), which combines human eggs and sperm outside the body, to in vitro gametogenesis (IVG), which uses stem cells to create gametes, pregnancy is...
![Understanding Grief](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/2468836f-deab-46b8-b329-f9d2dd64c34e/53809707833_3f38e415da_o.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=600&q=80&rect=0%2C0%2C5504%2C8256&w=400)
The experience of loss alters the map of the world imprinted on our brain, disrupting patterns and expectations as it struggles to form new ones. Grief is a kind of longing, n...
![The Menopause Brain](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/74814f52-6fdc-4590-ac38-99b0b9a094d7/53809795359_322c947e2a_o.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=225&q=80&rect=11%2C0%2C8245%2C4640&w=400)
The hormonal changes and hot flashes that accompany menopause are familiar to most women, but the accompanying brain changes have not received as much attention. We now know t...
![Blue Zones and Lifestyle Medicine: The Secrets to Longevity Unlocked](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/451b247f-f20a-438b-a194-6a382c8660dd/53809460051_17da9335fe_o.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=225&q=80&rect=4%2C0%2C8248%2C4640&w=400)
The communities we call home and the ways we live greatly influence health and longevity. By studying “Blue Zones” around the globe, Dan Buettner has uncovered the macro-level...
![GLP-1 Agonists: Wonder Drugs of the 21st Century?](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/8c839279-ecc7-4717-8a12-38a8a9f64bcd/53812131104_87f7a9dc2b_o.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=225&q=80&rect=0%2C824%2C5504%2C3092&w=400)
The first drug in a class known as GLP-1 agonists was approved in 2005 to treat diabetes. GLP-1 drugs subsequently proved their mettle to treat obesity and prevent major cardi...