A new study tracking over 28,000 participants published in Nature Medicine embarking on a Human Phenotype Project (HPP) aims to identify health problems before they show up in the body.

The HPP takes a deep dive in the genes, metabolism, gut microbiome and daily lifestyle habits and hopes to change how we think about health.

Over 13,000 volunteers have already completed their initial check-up, and wearable gadgets like sleep trackers and glucose monitors are producing volumes of data. The goal is to understand how individuals migrate from healthy to ill and how to stop it from happening.

Initial results indicate significant difference in health markers depending on factors like age and ethnicity, implying that the typical “normal ranges” doctors use might be too one-size-fits-all.

Early results show the AI-powered models are better than the usual tools at predicting those who might be at risk for things like diabetes and have picked up on gut bacteria linked to breast cancer and inflammatory bowel disease.

The end game is that every human could have a digital twin to simulate health progression and test how medical treatments and lifestyle changes could affect us beforehand.

This is a 25-year plan, and with international growth on the horizon, the Human Phenotype Project could change the way medicine is practiced forever.

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