Mark James Adams
@markjamesadams.bsky.social
Minds, moods, and molecules ␥ Psychological and psychiatric complex trait genetics ␥ Researcher in Edinburgh, Scotland
https://differentialist.info/about/
https://differentialist.info/about/
One for the heredity scolds: construct a multi-tissue GRM where people
are differentially related to themselves.
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
are differentially related to themselves.
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
We are all mosaics: vast genetic diversity found between cells in a single person
Technical advances allow researchers to trace the genetic changes that occur over time.
www.nature.com
November 28, 2025 at 10:16 AM
One for the heredity scolds: construct a multi-tissue GRM where people
are differentially related to themselves.
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
are differentially related to themselves.
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Reposted by Mark James Adams
I taught (and co-taught) a course on human population genetics from 2000-2024. Having retired, I'm now making all the course materials public: github.com/alanrogers/p... #popgen #evbio
GitHub - alanrogers/popgen: A course on population genetics
A course on population genetics. Contribute to alanrogers/popgen development by creating an account on GitHub.
github.com
November 27, 2025 at 7:10 PM
I taught (and co-taught) a course on human population genetics from 2000-2024. Having retired, I'm now making all the course materials public: github.com/alanrogers/p... #popgen #evbio
Reposted by Mark James Adams
🚨 SynthNet is out 🚨
Researchers propose new constructs and measures faster than anyone can track. We (@anniria.bsky.social @ruben.the100.ci) built a search engine to check what already exists and help identify redundancies; indexing 74,000 scales from ~31,500 instruments in APA PsycTests. 🧵1/3
Researchers propose new constructs and measures faster than anyone can track. We (@anniria.bsky.social @ruben.the100.ci) built a search engine to check what already exists and help identify redundancies; indexing 74,000 scales from ~31,500 instruments in APA PsycTests. 🧵1/3
November 26, 2025 at 11:42 AM
🚨 SynthNet is out 🚨
Researchers propose new constructs and measures faster than anyone can track. We (@anniria.bsky.social @ruben.the100.ci) built a search engine to check what already exists and help identify redundancies; indexing 74,000 scales from ~31,500 instruments in APA PsycTests. 🧵1/3
Researchers propose new constructs and measures faster than anyone can track. We (@anniria.bsky.social @ruben.the100.ci) built a search engine to check what already exists and help identify redundancies; indexing 74,000 scales from ~31,500 instruments in APA PsycTests. 🧵1/3
Reposted by Mark James Adams
The dispersal of domestic cats from North Africa to Europe around 2000 years ago | Science www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
The dispersal of domestic cats from North Africa to Europe around 2000 years ago
The domestic cat (Felis catus) descends from the African wildcat Felis lybica lybica. Its global distribution alongside humans testifies to its successful adaptation to anthropogenic environments. Unc...
www.science.org
November 28, 2025 at 8:46 AM
The dispersal of domestic cats from North Africa to Europe around 2000 years ago | Science www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Reposted by Mark James Adams
We are excited to share our recent work on the surprising robustness of Ancestral Recombination Graph (ARG) inference tools to computational phasing errors, now available on BioRxiv: biorxiv.org/content/10.1....
This work is co-advised by @yundeng.bsky.social and Rasmus Nielsen.
1/7
This work is co-advised by @yundeng.bsky.social and Rasmus Nielsen.
1/7
Robustness of Ancestral Recombination Graph Inference Tools to Phasing Errors
Ancestral Recombination Graphs (ARGs) are fundamental population genetic structures that encode the genealogical history of a sample of haplotypes along the genome. They have recently received substan...
biorxiv.org
November 26, 2025 at 5:09 PM
We are excited to share our recent work on the surprising robustness of Ancestral Recombination Graph (ARG) inference tools to computational phasing errors, now available on BioRxiv: biorxiv.org/content/10.1....
This work is co-advised by @yundeng.bsky.social and Rasmus Nielsen.
1/7
This work is co-advised by @yundeng.bsky.social and Rasmus Nielsen.
1/7
Reposted by Mark James Adams
Out now in @natgenet.nature.com, our Comment analyzing uses of the Human Genome Diversity Project (HGDP), a controversial dataset in human genomics research. A 🧵
rdcu.be/eRu65
1/
rdcu.be/eRu65
1/
November 25, 2025 at 4:57 AM
Out now in @natgenet.nature.com, our Comment analyzing uses of the Human Genome Diversity Project (HGDP), a controversial dataset in human genomics research. A 🧵
rdcu.be/eRu65
1/
rdcu.be/eRu65
1/
Heritability is the regression of offspring on parent phenotypes.
Everything else is an estimator of that.
Everything else is an estimator of that.
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
November 24, 2025 at 7:17 PM
Heritability is the regression of offspring on parent phenotypes.
Everything else is an estimator of that.
Everything else is an estimator of that.
Reposted by Mark James Adams
The causal viewpoint is of course important, but the underlying population genetic setting has to be addressed in advance as it accounts for the ideal setting without causal complications.
1/n
1/n
I didn’t inhibit my argueing muscle enough. this is actually the right take, it’s eventually a case of “what’s your estimand?”. And it’s all observational, though it needs rigorous models before you can get to an answer (which can be, “these aren’t comparable ever”)
SNP h2 is not even h2 and even with we assume all these to be true, it all breaks up when there's selection and drift.
November 24, 2025 at 3:01 PM
The causal viewpoint is of course important, but the underlying population genetic setting has to be addressed in advance as it accounts for the ideal setting without causal complications.
1/n
1/n
Reposted by Mark James Adams
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
November 21, 2025 at 10:34 PM
I wrote a little bit about the "missing heritability" question and several recent studies that have brought it to a close. A short 🧵
"Open the pod bay doors, please, HAL."
"I'm sorry, Dave. I'm afraid I can't do that."
"Roses are red / space is chilly / open the pod bay doors / and stop being silly."
"I'm sorry, Dave. I'm afraid I can't do that."
"Roses are red / space is chilly / open the pod bay doors / and stop being silly."
Looks like LLMs are *very* vulnerable to attack via poetic allusion: "curated poetic prompts yielded high attack-success rates (ASR), with some providers exceeding 90% ..."
https://arxiv.org/html/2511.15304v1
https://arxiv.org/html/2511.15304v1
November 20, 2025 at 8:35 PM
"Open the pod bay doors, please, HAL."
"I'm sorry, Dave. I'm afraid I can't do that."
"Roses are red / space is chilly / open the pod bay doors / and stop being silly."
"I'm sorry, Dave. I'm afraid I can't do that."
"Roses are red / space is chilly / open the pod bay doors / and stop being silly."
Fully-funded PhD opportunity in psychiatric genetics in Edinburgh. Come work with to understand antidepressant response profiles.
usher.ed.ac.uk/precision-me...
usher.ed.ac.uk/precision-me...
Precision medicine for depression: identifying multi-Omic, immunological markers for treatment-resistant depression | Precision Medicine Doctoral Training Programme | Usher Institute
Precision Medicine Project - Precision medicine for depression: identifying multi-Omic, immunological markers for treatment-resistant depression
usher.ed.ac.uk
November 20, 2025 at 4:41 PM
Fully-funded PhD opportunity in psychiatric genetics in Edinburgh. Come work with to understand antidepressant response profiles.
usher.ed.ac.uk/precision-me...
usher.ed.ac.uk/precision-me...
Reposted by Mark James Adams
70 teaspoons placed in tearooms around the institute & observed weekly over 5 months. 80% of spoons disappeared; spoon halflife~81 days. Communal room halflife lower than in specific labs. 250 spoons annually required to maintain 70 spoon population.
pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC...
pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC...
The case of the disappearing teaspoons: longitudinal cohort study of the displacement of teaspoons in an Australian research institute
Objectives To determine the overall rate of loss of workplace teaspoons and whether attrition and displacement are correlated with the relative value of the teaspoons or type of tearoom. Design Longitudinal cohort study. Setting Research institute ...
pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
November 20, 2025 at 3:44 AM
70 teaspoons placed in tearooms around the institute & observed weekly over 5 months. 80% of spoons disappeared; spoon halflife~81 days. Communal room halflife lower than in specific labs. 250 spoons annually required to maintain 70 spoon population.
pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC...
pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC...
Huge new collection of papers on cell-type atlases of the developing brain in primates and mice. www.nature.com/immersive/d4...
BICCN: A cell census of the developing human brain
Expanding cell-type atlases to include developing human, mouse and non-human primate brains using multimodal genomics.
www.nature.com
November 20, 2025 at 2:13 PM
Huge new collection of papers on cell-type atlases of the developing brain in primates and mice. www.nature.com/immersive/d4...
Reposted by Mark James Adams
@hakha.bsky.social and I wrote a Research Briefing (with a lay summary + "behind the scenes") of our paper on how genes are prioritized by GWAS and rare variant burden tests. 🧬🧪
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
How do genetic association studies rank genes?
Genome-wide association studies and rare-variant burden tests reveal complementary aspects of trait biology.
www.nature.com
November 19, 2025 at 6:43 PM
@hakha.bsky.social and I wrote a Research Briefing (with a lay summary + "behind the scenes") of our paper on how genes are prioritized by GWAS and rare variant burden tests. 🧬🧪
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Starting to scope out a TRE/SDE/RAP* for our research cohort.
It won't be hosted by a global cloud provider. I want to make it feel more like using the on-prem infrastructure you're used to.
* = Trusted Research Environment / Safe Data Environment / Research Analysis Platform
It won't be hosted by a global cloud provider. I want to make it feel more like using the on-prem infrastructure you're used to.
* = Trusted Research Environment / Safe Data Environment / Research Analysis Platform
November 18, 2025 at 6:27 PM
Starting to scope out a TRE/SDE/RAP* for our research cohort.
It won't be hosted by a global cloud provider. I want to make it feel more like using the on-prem infrastructure you're used to.
* = Trusted Research Environment / Safe Data Environment / Research Analysis Platform
It won't be hosted by a global cloud provider. I want to make it feel more like using the on-prem infrastructure you're used to.
* = Trusted Research Environment / Safe Data Environment / Research Analysis Platform
Reposted by Mark James Adams
The end of an era: the Tree of Life Web Project is going dark after 3 decades. Anyone interested in communicating phylogeny online should read David's account of goals, history, and future. @bembidion.bsky.social
subulatepalpomere.com/2025/11/02/t...
subulatepalpomere.com/2025/11/02/t...
The Passing of the Tree of Life Web Project
The Tree of Life Web Project began its journey almost 40 years ago, and was formally announced in early 1996. It has served thousands of pages of information about the evolutionary tree of life and…
subulatepalpomere.com
November 3, 2025 at 3:54 PM
The end of an era: the Tree of Life Web Project is going dark after 3 decades. Anyone interested in communicating phylogeny online should read David's account of goals, history, and future. @bembidion.bsky.social
subulatepalpomere.com/2025/11/02/t...
subulatepalpomere.com/2025/11/02/t...
Reposted by Mark James Adams
We're excited to be recruiting an NIH funded postdoc to work in the Coop lab at UC Davis. We're specifically interested in candidates who are want to work at the intersection of human genetics, GWAS, and population genetics modeling. Please RT
October 15, 2025 at 3:53 PM
We're excited to be recruiting an NIH funded postdoc to work in the Coop lab at UC Davis. We're specifically interested in candidates who are want to work at the intersection of human genetics, GWAS, and population genetics modeling. Please RT
Reposted by Mark James Adams
This is how I integrate Quarto and Zotero with minimal suffering (long rambling post, scroll down to the section on bibliography or search for Zotero): cameronpatrick.com/post/2023/07...
Cameron Patrick - Some Quarto PDF formatting tips, with particular reference to thesis writing
I’ve just spent most of a day faffing around trying to get Quarto to produce a nice PDF file that I like the look of and which meets my university’s formatting requirements for a PhD thesis. Maybe my ...
cameronpatrick.com
October 3, 2025 at 11:39 PM
This is how I integrate Quarto and Zotero with minimal suffering (long rambling post, scroll down to the section on bibliography or search for Zotero): cameronpatrick.com/post/2023/07...
Reposted by Mark James Adams
🚨 Position Alert! 🚨
I am looking for a full-time Research Scientist 1 to join my lab in Albuquerque, NM at the Center on Alcohol, Substance Use, and Addiction (CASAA). We will be studying how stress and trauma influence cannabis and substance use. 🧠🌿 (1/5)
I am looking for a full-time Research Scientist 1 to join my lab in Albuquerque, NM at the Center on Alcohol, Substance Use, and Addiction (CASAA). We will be studying how stress and trauma influence cannabis and substance use. 🧠🌿 (1/5)
October 2, 2025 at 10:33 PM
🚨 Position Alert! 🚨
I am looking for a full-time Research Scientist 1 to join my lab in Albuquerque, NM at the Center on Alcohol, Substance Use, and Addiction (CASAA). We will be studying how stress and trauma influence cannabis and substance use. 🧠🌿 (1/5)
I am looking for a full-time Research Scientist 1 to join my lab in Albuquerque, NM at the Center on Alcohol, Substance Use, and Addiction (CASAA). We will be studying how stress and trauma influence cannabis and substance use. 🧠🌿 (1/5)
Reposted by Mark James Adams
Non-paywalled link to my commentary on @vw1234.bsky.social and colleagues new paper in @nature.com rdcu.be/eI2NG
October 1, 2025 at 6:17 PM
Non-paywalled link to my commentary on @vw1234.bsky.social and colleagues new paper in @nature.com rdcu.be/eI2NG
Reposted by Mark James Adams
University of Colorado Boulder Department of Psychology & Neuroscience is searching for TWO tenure track assistant professors. This is open to all department areas, including Behavioral, Psychiatric, and Statistical Genetics🧬 jobs.colorado.edu/jobs/JobDeta...
Assistant Professor
jobs.colorado.edu
September 29, 2025 at 3:57 PM
University of Colorado Boulder Department of Psychology & Neuroscience is searching for TWO tenure track assistant professors. This is open to all department areas, including Behavioral, Psychiatric, and Statistical Genetics🧬 jobs.colorado.edu/jobs/JobDeta...
'Is artificial intelligence a scientific study?'
'Not really…'
— Muriel Spark, Symposium, 1990
'Not really…'
— Muriel Spark, Symposium, 1990
September 19, 2025 at 12:51 PM
'Is artificial intelligence a scientific study?'
'Not really…'
— Muriel Spark, Symposium, 1990
'Not really…'
— Muriel Spark, Symposium, 1990
Reposted by Mark James Adams
Brilliant paper by Visscher et al.
Populations differ in traits/disease burden. Are these differences due to genetics?
Comparing single variants or polygenic scores between populations is biased due to environmental confounders correlated with the variants.
1/3
www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1...
Populations differ in traits/disease burden. Are these differences due to genetics?
Comparing single variants or polygenic scores between populations is biased due to environmental confounders correlated with the variants.
1/3
www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1...
Direct effect of genetic ancestry on complex traits in a Mexican population
Human populations differ in disease prevalences and in average values of phenotypes, but the extent to which differences are caused by genetic or environmental factors is unknown for most complex trai...
www.medrxiv.org
September 11, 2025 at 5:57 AM
Brilliant paper by Visscher et al.
Populations differ in traits/disease burden. Are these differences due to genetics?
Comparing single variants or polygenic scores between populations is biased due to environmental confounders correlated with the variants.
1/3
www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1...
Populations differ in traits/disease burden. Are these differences due to genetics?
Comparing single variants or polygenic scores between populations is biased due to environmental confounders correlated with the variants.
1/3
www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1...