After the Human Genome Project comes the one on the Exposome

After the great Human Genome Project, which in 2003 managed to map and sequence our DNA, now comes the Human Exposome project, which aims to understand how lifestyles and environmental factors to which we are exposed (such as stress, pollution, food and social relationships) affect our health . The launch of this new scientific enterprise was marked by the 'Exposome Moonshot Forum' meeting, which brought together hundreds of researchers, policy makers and representatives of civil society in Washington. "This forum marks a historic milestone and a turning point towards a future in which health will be understood not only through our genes, but through the full complexity of the environments in which we live", says immunologist Fenna Sillé of Johns Hopkins University and member of the organizing committee of the event.

“The Human Exposome will redefine medicine , prevention , and equity , shifting our focus from what we inherit to what we encounter .” “Unravelling the human exposome is one of the noblest undertakings that modern science and society can imagine,” adds Dimosthenis Sarigiannis, professor of Environmental and Health Engineering at the University Institute for Advanced Studies in Pavia. "This will complete the puzzle that began with the decoding of the human genome, in order to effectively fight disease, while promoting sustainable innovation for all. The Human Exposome Moonshot represents a breakthrough in public health , environmental science and engineering, and international cooperation for the benefit of humanity and the planet. Our work over the past two decades in deciphering the exposome now has the opportunity to bring about real positive change on the world stage. If, as the father of medicine Hippocrates said, 'prevention is better than cure,' the human exposome holds the key to efficient and comprehensive precision prevention."