We are looking to recruit 2 postdocs in molecular epidemiology (3y and 4y posts) to work on a methylation/proteomic ageing project as part of a recent MRC grant award. @uoe-igc.bsky.social @genscot.bsky.social @edinunilbc.bsky.social
elxw.fa.em3.oraclecloud.com/hcmUI/Candid...
Happy #Lawyercat Anniversary for all who celebrate! It's been four years since the kitten appeared in my Zoom courtroom, and I released the 48 second video that made the whole world laugh. Here is the full video showing the big reveal at the end (in two parts because Blue sky). Enjoy!
📝 The PsychGen Center for Genetic Epidemiology and Mental Health is hosting a two-day, in-person workshop for early-career researchers on family-based genomic analyses. The workshop takes place in Oslo, Norway, on 9-10 April 2026 and registration is now open:
shorturl.at/etXCN
MRC instructs grant review boards to slash funding rates.
Boards asked to recommend just three applications for funding, as BBSRC also suspends calls.
www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-r...
Useful thread - disheartening situation
Seemingly fake genetic study of left-handedness, first drawn to my attention by @ocklenburg.bsky.social , with laughable / frighteningly bad figures and false citations...!
Sir Paul Nurse is an impressive scientist but what the Royal Society needs is Dorothy Bishop to take the helm and clean the place out. Fellows who bring the Society into disrepute need tougher action than himpathy.
www.theguardian.com/science/2026...
Wonderful news for the new year from @oxhealthbrc.bsky.social .
This is the progress we can make when mental health research is properly invested in over the long term.
oxfordhealthbrc.nihr.ac.uk/new-study-of...
Still looking for papers for the upcoming collection:
Brain metabolomics in dementia and neurological disease. #CallForPapers @natureportfolio.nature.com
Photograph of the outside of the Max Planck Institute (Nijmegen, the Netherlands) and the trees of the forest around it.
Only a few weeks left to apply for our 4-year PhD position, using human brain organoids & multi-omic methods to study genes implicated in speech disorders. Application deadline 5 Jan 2026. Fellowship is embedded in the International Max Planck Research School. More info: www.mpi.nl/imprs-phd-fe...
Most (72%) people with dyspraxia report high anxiety about falling – yet they’re not even mentioned in fall prevention guidelines.
Advances in genomics are giving exciting new perspectives on biology of speech, language & reading. My latest peer-reviewed paper is a tutorial, guiding readers from different backgrounds through the history of the field, current state-of-the-art, & where we’re heading. A taster in this thread.🧪
1/n
#PhD opportunity: Join us in St Andrews to study brain health and healthy aging with data driven approaches in collaboration with brainsciences.scot as part of the EASTBIO DTP
www.findaphd.com/phds/project...
Colourful flyer showing a graphic with hands reaching upwards. The flyer says: Adults with Developmental Coordination Disorder/ Dyspraxia. We need your voice! Take part in an international online survey exploring the experiences of adults with DCD/ dyspraxia.
📣 Adults with #dyspraxia / developmental coordination disorder (DCD) 📣
Impact for DCD is running an international online survey exploring the experiences of adults with DCD/ dyspraxia.
Who can participate?
- Adults aged 18+
- Have, or likely have DCD/ Dyspraxia
redcap.link/impactfordcd...
Anyone know anyone who'd be willing? Always good to have contacts for future requirements, too.
We have an exciting PhD position available in the Williams lab related to cerebral small vessel disease and funded through our Racing Against Dementia project - if you are interested then do apply here: regenerative-medicine.ed.ac.uk/postgraduate...
www.findaphd.com/phds/project...
❗early serial killer red flags: Christmas dinner edition 😬
This will be a question in the Dark Triad Personality Test in a couple of years.
Figure 2 in the review: Levels of analysis from genes and brain systems to cognition and behaviour. The child both influences and is influenced by parents through genetically shaped interactions, and by the wider school and social environment. Figure design by Neil Usher. Figure from this review paper: https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/w23yz_v1
🧩Learning to talk & read isn’t just about effort or teaching—it’s shaped by biology, experience & context
🧠Our new review links genetics, neuroscience, psychology & education to show why some children find language or reading easier.
📖 doi.org/10.31234/osf...
🖼️genes→brain→cognition→behaviour 🧵👇
Image shows the first two printed pages of the paper “A forkhead-domain gene is mutated in a severe speech and language disorder” by Cecilia Lai and colleagues, published in Nature in 2001 (volume 413, pages 519-523). The abstract reads as follows: Individuals affected with developmental disorders of speech and language have substantial difficulty acquiring expressive and/or receptive language in the absence of any profound sensory or neurological impairment and despite adequate intelligence and opportunity. Although studies of twins consistently indicate that a significant genetic component is involved, most families segregating speech and language deficits show complex patterns of inheritance, and a gene that predisposes individuals to such disorders has not been identified. We have studied a unique three-generation pedigree, KE, in which a severe speech and language disorder is transmitted as an autosomal-dominant monogenic trait. Our previous work mapped the locus responsible, SPCH1, to a 5.6-cM interval of region 7q31 on chromosome 7. We also identified an unrelated individual, CS, in whom speech and language impairment is associated with a chromosomal translocation involving the SPCH1 interval. Here we show that the gene FOXP2, which encodes a putative transcription factor containing a polyglutamine tract and a forkhead DNA-binding domain, is directly disrupted by the translocation breakpoint in CS. In addition, we identify a point mutation in affected members of the KE family that alters an invariant amino-acid residue in the forkhead domain. Our findings suggest that FOXP2 is involved in the developmental process that culminates in speech and language.
Twenty-four years ago today, our paper “A forkhead-domain gene is mutated in a severe speech and language disorder” was published: www.nature.com/articles/350....
A personal thread about the ups & downs of the journey we took to get to that point....1/n
🗣️🧬🧪
New paper alert! Systematic epidemiological analyses of up to 39,000 people illuminate biological/clinical links between impaired musical rhythm abilities & disorders affecting speech-language development. International collaboration led by @drsrishtin.bsky.social, out in @natcomms.nature.com. 👇🧪
Calling for your paper for the upcoming collection
Brain metabolomics in dementia and neurological disease
I’m honoured to be serving as the collection’s Guest Editor
and eager to read your submission. #CallForPapers @natureportfolio.nature.com Learn more about the
collection: go.nature.com/41S5bI3
📢 Job Alert: Postdoctoral Research Associate in Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience. Full details: edin.ac/3Ibm1uQ
Deadline for applications: Friday 19 September 2025
AAAAANNNNndddd the @athelstanmuseum.bsky.social liked this obviously very niche post. I will come for a visit!
Naming a child or pet? Uninspired by traditional names? Consider Aethelstan as an absolute Anglo-Saxon classic. Ruling England before it was cool.
Awareness of developmental coordination disorder/ #dyspraxia is still far too low.
This article by Emily Meachon and Amy De Roubaix reviews past efforts to raise awareness and highlights strategies that might actually make a difference moving forward:
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
Delighted to see work led by Hayley Mountford @hayleymountford.bsky.social published today. rdcu.be/eA8G0 We used MTAG to increase gene discovery for dyslexia: 36 new regions; ~30 new genes from gene-based tests; several sig biological pathways @profsimonfisher.bsky.social @schoolofppls.bsky.social
I still get chills
Meet Mike
*30+ years severe depression
*first hospitalized @ 13y
*20 meds
*3 rounds of ECT
*2 near-fatal suicide attempts
Mike felt joy for the first time in decades after we turned on his new brain pacemaker or PACE
see videos, read paper, follow thread
doi.org/10.31234/osf...
An infographic showing the impacts and activities of the Specific Learning Difficulties Network to date, since launch 2 years ago.
Here's a snapshot of what SLDN/members have done and delivered since launch. Click for an overview of the events, papers, connections and contributions. We're also keen to hear how we could add value to the activities, projects or ideas of others in the coming year or so.
Here's what frailty looks like when we consider genetic relations at the symptom level. Some important insights from this new research for anyone interested in ageing!
