ESSGN

Political Science and Genetics, odd bed fellows? Not necessarily! Listen in on this weeks episode of Born and Raised, with Sven Oskarsson, professor of political science at Uppsala university.

Publication alert: Prenatal sugar exposure, genetic variation, and fetal programming By: Stephanie von Hinke, PI ESSGN Wartime rationing during and after World War II is often remembered as a period marked by scarcity, strict regulation and unpalatable diets. Yet a large body of re…

What can sugar rationing during and after WW2 teach us about human health? Surprising findings from Stephanie von Hinke and others!

I never studied molecular biology, but have found epigenetics to be an exciting substrate to probe evo-devo theories (lifespan plasticity, developmental origins of health and disease, life history, gene X social inequality). Cheers to reuniting the divorcées "social science" and "life science" 💗

In this week's episode of Born and Raised, we met Laurel Raffington at MPIB to talk all things epigenetics, the history and ethics of doing sociogenomic research in Germany, and the importance of lifting weights. Don't miss!

Column: Can Genetics Help Explain Political Behavior? By: Asya Bülbül, ESSGN doctoral candidate at Uppsala universityAll views expressed are those of the author. As political science has matured, it has repeatedly absorbed tools and concepts from neig…

ESSGN doctoral candidate Asya Bülbül reflects on what political scientists can learn from integrating genetics.

New episode of Born and Raised out now, with @sjoerdalten.bsky.social, covering where economics and modern genetic methods meet. Don't miss!

<em>Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry</em> | ACAMH Pediatric Journal | Wiley Online Library Background From a functionalist perspective, parenting behaviors have adaptive functions and are partly expressions of genetic variation. Maternal genes that have effects on children are often refer...

Article alert!🚨
1/11 Parents matter - and we can quantify part of that influence genetically. Our new JCPP paper on multivariate indirect maternal genetic effects across internalizing and externalizing symptoms. doi.org/10.1111/jcpp...
#jcpp @uio.no @unioslo-svfak.bsky.social @unioslo-uv.bsky.social

Ahoy! Call for papers now open for this year's amazing ESSGN conference - returning to the beautiful Bologna. Have anything to present at the intersection of the social sciences and genetics? Don't miss!

Critique as Care: Reflections on Social Science Genetics Research By: Nadia Harerimana, ESSGN doctoral candidate at MPIB.All views expressed are those of the author. When people ask what I study, I usually hesitate before answering. Saying “social science genetic…

ESSGN doctoral candidate Nadia Harerimana writes a personal reflection on critique as care in social science genetics.

essgn.org/2026/01/30/c...

Join us in Turku, Finland for the 3rd @invest-flagship.bsky.social conference; May 6-8, 2026. This year's topic is "Building equal societies: from scientific findings to societal transformation" with excizing and timely keynotes by Prof. Harden @kph3k.bsky.social and Prof. Cohen @philipncohen.com

Behind the scenes

Exciting news! Today marks the start of the podcast Born and Raised - produced by the ESSGN. In this very first episode, our hosts have visited @dr-appie.bsky.social in his office at the AUMC. Shocking revelations ensue! Find it on essgn.podbean.com or on the podcast platform of your choice.

The ESSGN wishes a very happy new year to all of you!

Welcome to my 2025 scientific publications wrapped!

It's been a good year for behavioral genetics, with exciting studies on the relationship between our DNA and socio-economic outcomes, sexual behavior, personality, intelligence, and psychiatric disorders 🧬

See thread below 👇🏽

Hi Perline! Dates: 21-22 of May, in a lovely part of Italy (more details to come!) :)

Parental Influence on Children’s Educational Achievements: Analysing Direct and Indirect Genetic Effects through Trio-GCTA Educational achievement is a key predictor of later-life outcomes, including financial security, social mobility, health, and mortality. Knowing its familial determinants, such as genetic predispositi...

1/11 New @biorxivpreprint.bsky.social led by @ESSGNetwork PhD student @qiyuanpeng.bsky.social : Parental influence on children’s educational achievement using Trio-GCTA. doi.org/10.64898/202...

Co-organized with @lseinequalities.bsky.social , @cy-univ.bsky.social
Supported by : @lisdata.bsky.social, ifo Institute, @uantwerpen.be AIPRIL, @umontpellier.bsky.social CEE-M, ECINEQ, Uni Bari, Uni Roma Sapienza, @essgn.bsky.social , World Bank Group

Using structural equation models to estimate direct and indirect genetic effects and assortative mating in trio data - PROMENTA Guest lecture by Matt Keller

Two birds of a gene - catch Matt Keller's webinar at @uio.no on October 15th. Please share
www.sv.uio.no/promenta/eng...
@ispg.bsky.social @behaviorgenetic.bsky.social @unioslo-svfak.bsky.social @essgn.bsky.social @ibg.colorado.edu

Loved hosting @essgn.bsky.social in Oxford including @dr-appie.bsky.social & family (& the rest of the ESSGN family as well) - read the post and links below to hear about this great event

We welcomed the next generation of @essgn.bsky.social social science genomics researchers in Oxford!
✨ Speakers from industry (deCODE, Genomics), data (UKBiobank), experts from Oxford & beyond + an Editor from Nature Human Behaviour!

📸 More here 👉 www.demography.ox.ac.uk/news/lcds-ho...

A Love Letter to Social Science Genetics Some people call social science genetics a minefield. Others call it dangerous, even irresponsible. I call it the most promising field in life sciences.

Some people call it a minefield. Others call it dangerous, even irresponsible. I call it the most promising field in life sciences.

My love letter to social science genetics: communities.springernature.com/posts/a-love...

Call for abstracts: genetics, economic & social issues.

We're hosting a 1-day workshop on using genetic data to examine economic & social issues on 12th December at UCL’s Social Research Institute. More info & submission at link below #genetics #socialscience #economics #cohort

bit.ly/41EnPmu

1/🧵 Even more nature-nurture for school performance in
@pnas.org! Nikolai Eftedal examined family resemblance in school performance in nearly 1 million students across their Norwegian relatives. doi.org/10.1073/pnas...

The genetic and environmental composition of socioeconomic status in Norway - Nature Communications The authors examine the genetic and environmental contributions to socioeconomic status (SES) in Norway using a large, population-wide dataset and four different heritability estimation methods. They ...

🧵 THREAD: New wine on socioeconomic status!
Joakim Coleman Ebeltoft shipped a new tap in
@NatureComms
- a large study on the genetic and environmental factors behind socioeconomic status in Norway 🇳🇴
1/11
doi.org/10.1038/s414...

So happy that this conference has gotten to the 4th iteration.

Loved to be there and see the faces and ideas of a growing community of responsible social science genetic researchers

Love.

Thank you @essgn.bsky.social and everyone at ESSGN this year for a brilliant conference! I was grateful to be there and learnt so much.

Very grateful that I got to present at the ESSGN past Friday. In the study I presented, we looked at intergenerational transmission of education in a sample of the Norwegian population register. We used a Children-of-Twins model to look at GPA at age 16 and educational attainment in the parents.

Ending the conference with a panel about Mendelian Randomization with @mendelrandom.bsky.social Alice Carter and Dalton Conley. My main take-away: use negative controls!
@essgn.bsky.social

Final plenary discussion about mendelian randomization with George Davey Smith, Dalton Conley and Alice Carter.