A group of Bangladeshi scientists has generated the country’s first single-cell genomics data making a huge leap towards treating oral and nasal complications among children.

The new data concern cells in the inner skins of mouths and noses and contributes to the global human cell data, said Senjuti Saha, director of the research foundation behind the breakthrough discovery, on a facebook post.

Senjuti is also a senior scientist at the Dhaka-based Child Health Research Foundation. Her team is working with international scientists to create a database of pediatric nasal and oral mucosa, funded by the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative. Nasal and oral mucosa mean the inner membranes of noses and mouths.

In her facebook post, Senjuti clarified that internal oral and nasal skins serve as the primary interfaces for environmental and microbial interactions but lack detailed data across diverse ancestries. Single-cell analysis can take years but provide the necessary information in this regard.

Single-cell analysis is much more complex than conventional cell analytical processes as it is done on the individual cell level instead of a group of cells for collecting more accurate data that would otherwise be missed.

A lot of more work remains on generating enough data, but the long-term implications are many: designing new therapeutics and developing vaccines to treat or prevent infections.

Senjuti expressed her “extreme gratitude” to partners in Harvard University, MIT and Boston Children’s Hospital. Noting that from the very beginning of the research project there have been equal collaborations among partners, Senjuit said that the new data generation would not have been possible without “our friends across the world and science funding agencies.

BDST: 2145 HRS, MAR 19, 2024
MSK