The Great Unknown: How Chemistry Remains the Last Frontier to Understanding Life

An estimated 20 million chemical transformations occur in an average human cell every second; however, the vast majority of nature’s small-molecule “dark chemical matter” remains uncharted, limiting our understanding of basic biological processes and throttling progress in human health. High-throughput metabolomics coupled with artificial intelligence and machine learning can decode life’s chemistry, illuminating novel metabolites involved in giving rise to living systems and transforming human health.