Human intestinal lymphoid tissue in time and space

Observational studies of human tissues have contributed the literature for many years. However, recent initiatives driving human sample collection for research, the acquisition of deep next-generation datasets that enable observational accuracy, and multidisciplinary collaborations between mathematicians and biologists are enabling a new age of observational science. In this issue of Mucosal Immunology, Senda et al 1 describe the quantification of T cell subsets in intestinal lymphoid tissue throughout the gut throughout life and demonstrate the feasibility of developing algorithms to classify gut tissues that may be adapted in the future for diagnosis of pathology.