23andMe is hiring for 2 amazing roles! - Scientist, ML for Health Risk Prediction: build next-gen health prediction tools integrating genetics. - Scientist, Population Genetics: build state-of-the-art algorithms for genetic relationship & ancestry inference. Links below!
Happy to highlight new findings by Vanesa Getseva and Lin Poyraz about the sources of variation in germline mutation rates among humans: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... Joint work with Anastasia Stolyarova and @ipsitaagarwal.bsky.social. 1/n
A sibling study of variation in parental mutation rates
People are born with variable numbers of de novo germline mutations (DNMs), depending primarily on the ages of their parents. To explore additional causes, we developed an approach to call DNMs from nucleotide differences between siblings in genomic regions inherited identical by descent from both parents. Applying it to whole genome sequences from 28,985 sibling pairs of diverse genetic ancestries present in the UK Biobank and All of Us datasets, as well as 2,330 trios, we identified >800K autosomal DNMs and characterized mutation phenotypes in 27,645 sets of parents. We found subtle shifts in the mutation spectrum but no differences in total DNM rates among genetic ancestry groups, or between smokers and non-smokers. Testing for associations between parental mutation phenotypes and their burden of loss-of-function and deleterious missense variants in a set of 180 DNA repair and maintenance genes, we discovered that disruptions in REV1 and LIG1 increase germline mutation rates, and thus that rare mutator alleles segregate in population cohorts. ### Competing Interest Statement The authors have declared no competing interest. NIH, R35 GM083098
biorxiv.org
I'm thrilled to share our new paper out today in @currentbiology.bsky.social! I teamed up with researchers at @harvardmed.bsky.social and the Smithsonian to study another historical American population using the 23andMe genetic database. 🧵 [1/9] Read it here: www.cell.com/current-biol...
cell.com
This story is *really cool* - well worth a read. A great example of genealogical sleuthing with DNA. A huge congratulations to the amazing 23andMe, Smithsonian, and Harvard teams. (I wasn’t involved with this study) www.cell.com/current-biol...
The genetic legacy of the 17th-century colonial capital of St. Mary’s City
Harney et al. analyze 49 genomes from 17th-century St. Mary’s City, Maryland. Using an IBD-based approach, they identify connections to over 1.3 million living relatives, enabling them to study the fo...
cell.com
Population geneticists! Come work at 23andMe! New role just posted. 23andme.wd5.myworkdayjobs.com/23/job/Palo-...
Scientist, Population Genetics
23andMe is looking for a quantitative scientist with extensive experience in population genetics and statistical modeling of human genetics data to join our R&D team. You will leverage your expert...
23andme.wd5.myworkdayjobs.com
Why do people respond differently to GLP-1 weight-loss drugs? Genetics has the answer - provided in this genome wide association study led by @adamauton.bsky.social www.nature.com/articles/s41... 🧪 www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Genetics reveal why people respond differently to GLP-1 weight-loss drugs
Genetic variants in GLP1R and GIPR, which encode targets of GLP-1-based medications, offer insights into why responses to these drugs vary and who might face adverse effects.
nature.com
Were you inspired by our paper on the genetics of GLP-1 drug response? www.nature.com/articles/s41... Want to make impactful discoveries with the world's best genetic dataset? We're hiring! StatGen: tinyurl.com/ys4mvhej Risk Prediction: tinyurl.com/psamt294 Data Products: tinyurl.com/2ff7eavb
Genetic predictors of GLP1 receptor agonist weight loss and side effects - Nature
Identification of genetic variants associated with the efficacy and side effects of GLP1 medications could underpin development of precision medicine approaches in the treatment of obesity.
nature.com
A nice “behind the paper” explainer here: communities.springernature.com/posts/unlock...
Unlocking the Genetics of GLP-1 Medications Through Crowdsourced Science at 23andMe
By pairing a rapid "research flywheel" with large-scale genomic data, 23andMe Research Institute scientists identified GLP1R and GIPR variants associated with some of the variability in individual res...
communities.springernature.com
Delighted to share our latest research from the 23andMe Research Team, just published in @nature.com ! We looked at data from >27,000 participants to uncover how human genetics influences weight loss efficacy and side effects of GLP-1 medications like semaglutide. A short thread 🧵👇
New opportunity at 23andMe Research Institute! We're looking for a new team member to help us build and deliver clinically useful risk prediction models that can be deployed to consumers and clinicians. 23andme.wd5.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/23/det...
Scientist/Senior Scientist, Clinical Risk Prediction
23andMe is looking for a quantitative scientist with extensive experience in statistical modeling of human genetics data to join our research team. You will leverage your expertise and work collaborat...
23andme.wd5.myworkdayjobs.com
This paper is bananas. I love everything about this. Such a fantastically smart design, signals popping out like nobody's business. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
biorxiv.org
Science Bluesky is now much better than Science Twitter is… but I still miss peak pre-pandemic Science Twitter.
Katharine Hayhoe@katharinehayhoe.com · 6mo agoBluesky is the new science Twitter, new study by @whysharksmatter.bsky.social and Julia Wester concludes! "Results show that for every reported professional benefit that scientists once gained from Twitter, scientists can now gain that benefit more effectively on Bluesky than on Twitter."
Fun news! @gcbias.bsky.social and I are teaching a 2-week online population genetics workshop this summer to raise money for the Center for Population Biology at UC Davis. We're trying to gauge interest -- please fill this out if you might be interested! And please share broadly!
Davis Summer Population Genomics Program
Want to learn population genetics? Please fill out this form to indicate your potential interest in a 2-week intensive online summer population genetics course taught by Jeffrey Ross-Ibarra and Graham...
docs.google.com
I haven't thought deeply about this, but ... if heritability is the proportion of the variance attributable to genetics, and I remove some variance attributable to "the environment", then should I be surprised that the heritability goes up? @sashagusevposts.bsky.social help!? doi.org/10.1126/scie...
Heritability of intrinsic human life span is about 50% when confounding factors are addressed
How heritable is human life span? If genetic heritability is high, longevity genes can reveal aging mechanisms and inform medicine and public health. However, current estimates of heritability are low...
science.org
We're hiring! We're seeking a talented statistical geneticist to join the team. Come work with the greatest genetic dataset in the world, and help shape the 23andMe Research Institute in our nonprofit era! 23andme.wd5.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/23/det...
Principal Scientist, Statistical Genetics & AI
With the world’s largest database of more than eleven million genotyped customers, 23andMe is at the forefront of using human genetics to advance biomedical research and transform healthcare. We are l...
23andme.wd5.myworkdayjobs.com
Brenna Henn Wanted to Improve Genetic Medicine. Then Her N.I.H. Grant Was Cut.
Brenna Henn Wanted to Improve Genetic Medicine. Then Her N.I.H. Grant Was Cut.
Brenna Henn had a long-term grant to study the genetic diversity of Africans and people of African descent. Then her N.I.H. funding was cut.
nytimes.com
I've been thinking about the "virtual cell" concept and wanted to write up a few thoughts. Specifically on how I think the prior experience in GWAS informs the most likely way these models will be useful. andrewcarroll.github.io/2025/12/23/t...
The Virtual Cell Will Be More Like Gwas Than Alphafold
There has been significant discussion recently on the concept of the “virtual cell.” I want to summarize the key concepts regarding what the field wants from a virtual cell and the challenges we face....
andrewcarroll.github.io
Congratulations to Richard Durbin on being awarded our Genetics Society Medal!
Keeping fuel duty at the same level for 15 years, while phasing in a cumbersome-to-implement tax on EV owners seems insane. www.bbc.com/news/article...
Electric vehicle owners to face pay-per-mile tax
Drivers of electric cars will pay a road charge of 3p per mile, while plug-in hybrid drivers will pay 1.5p per mile from April 2028.
bbc.com
PRSformer: Disease Prediction from Million-Scale Individual Genotypes [new] Deep learning w/ neighborhood attention predicts disease from million-scale genotype data by learning genetic interactions.
I wrote a little bit about the "missing heritability" question and several recent studies that have brought it to a close. A short 🧵
The missing heritability question is now (mostly) answered
Not with a bang but with a whimper
theinfinitesimal.substack.com
The field has also gained leverage from personal genomics initiatives, as in this study of ~52k adults answering “yes” to “have you been diagnosed with dyslexia?” vs >1 million responding “no”, which found 42 associated loci + high genetic overlap with directly assessed reading/language skills. 10/n
Discovery of 42 genome-wide significant loci associated with dyslexia - Nature Genetics
Genome-wide analysis of self-reported dyslexia identifies 42 associated loci, including 27 not previously associated with cognitive traits. Dyslexia shows genetic correlation with ambidexterity but no...
nature.com
Delighted to see our method, PRSformer, at #NeurIPS2025! PRSformer is AI model for population-scale disease-risk prediction from individual genomes. It lays the groundwork for phenome-wide risk prediction. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
PRSformer: Disease Prediction from Million-Scale Individual Genotypes
Predicting disease risk from DNA presents an unprecedented emerging challenge as biobanks approach population scale sizes (N>106 individuals) with ultra-high-dimensional features (L>105 genotypes). Cu...
biorxiv.org