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To better understand why and how disease works in the human body, scientists are increasingly turning to genetics for answers. Now, a large international team has made the first detailed map of how genes work within the cells and tissues of the human body.

They have published their research in a series of papers, two of which appear in the journal Nature.

The findings, which describe the intricate networks that oversee gene activity, could help identify the main genes involved in disease.

Calling their atlas a "major advance," Prof. Winston Hide, study author from Harvard School of Public Health, says their findings will better their ability to "understand the causes of disease across the body."

The atlas is the result of years of collaboration between 250 experts from over 20 countries. They were all part of the FANTOM 5 project, which stands for Functional Annotation of the Mammalian Genome.

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Researchers produce first comprehensive atlas of human genes