“Remote Greek culture has been a genetic ‘island’ for 4500 years New DNA analysis links Deep Maniots to Greece’s premedieval past” , a news post on Science referring to this study: www.nature.com/articles/s42...

I had a great time chatting about scientific discovery and the role of individuals, focusing on Francis Crick, on Michael Shermer’s Skeptic podcast. I look rather intense in the thumbnail; I promise it’s not quite so serious (and yes, I’m talking about the discovery of the double helix, not DNA).

I wrote an Opinion piece for @thelancet.com about James Watson. It's not an obituary - Georgina Ferry did that for them - but offers some thoughts on the problematic aspects of Watson's history. www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...

THE WONDER OF LIFE ON EARTH will be published in the UK on 5 Feb 2026. Editions are projected in German, Danish, Chinese, Korean, Bulgarian and Spanish (for Chile, Argentina, Ecuador, Uruguay & Peru). www.panmacmillan.com/authors/henr...

When to trust scientific claims (RFKj's ones included) substack.com/@kostaskampo...

Here's a clip from my chat yesterday with @erictopol.bsky.social – this is about Crick's first encounter with the psychedelic poetry of Michael McClure, in 1959. For the full chat (it lasts an hour - you could just listen) go here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ns2c...

Now live, and thanks to @erictopol.bsky.social for organising this!

When to trust scientific claims (RFKj's ones included) substack.com/@kostaskampo...

Is the claim “vaccines do not cause autism” an evidence-based claim? Absence of evidence vs. evidence of absence open.substack.com/pub/kostaska...

In the summer (you can tell by the shirt) I had a fabulous conversation about embryology and stem cells with @nmoris.bsky.social at the Crick Institute. Here's the first part of it. www.youtube.com/watch?v=3WB0...

Is the claim “vaccines do not cause autism” an evidence-based claim? Absence of evidence vs. evidence of absence open.substack.com/pub/kostaska...

Is having an Irish parent the same with having Irish DNA? open.substack.com/pub/kostaska...

Putting aside the deeper issues of why this analysis was done and how it has been promoted, the choice to broadcast a tv show before releasing a preprint should make people skeptical of the results. How can one be sure of their scientific claims?

A thoughtful review of CRICK - “vivid and authoritative” - in @nytimes.com.

Is having an Irish parent the same with having Irish DNA? open.substack.com/pub/kostaska...

A nice coincidence! The Greek and the Turkish edition of my book Ancestry Reimagined are being published a few weeks apart. I hope the message is clear: we are all family, there are no pure ethnicities! Geographic neighbors are also close relatives, in relative terms. global.oup.com/academic/pro...

My review of this review: It is not a review, it is carping. It's riddled with inaccuracies, innuendo & cheap shots. It's more about Mr. Pachter than about Watson or CSHL. There's much to criticize about Watson. It should have a full, fair, open hearing. This ain't that.

A nice evening last Monday at the CUP.gr bookstore in Athens, about the Greek edition of my book Ancestry Reimagined

A nice evening last Monday at the CUP.gr bookstore in Athens, about the Greek edition of my book Ancestry Reimagined

James D. Watson is dead. Stay tuned for some thoughts, based on my research on his biography, to be published soon. While I write that up, y'all can throw tomatoes at this if you like. But I will offer a more nuanced take. www.nytimes.com/2025/11/07/s...

If you believe either that Franklin discovered the double helix, and / or Watson and Crick stole her data, ask yourself how you know this. Then take a read of this article.

What is a "single-origin" individual? How can one identify "single-origin individuals" in a way that is not arbitrary, or at least operational? www.nature.com/articles/s41...

What is a "single-origin" individual? How can one identify "single-origin individuals" in a way that is not arbitrary, or at least operational? www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Why studies about reconstructing the past based on contemporary DNA makes me think of the streetlight effect open.substack.com/pub/kostaska...

In 2018, Charles Murray challenged me to a bet: "We will understand IQ genetically—I think most of the picture will have been filled in by 2025—there will still be blanks—but we’ll know basically what’s going on." It's now 2025, and I claim a win. I write about it in The Atlantic.

This is a lovely review of my (brief) history of alchemy by Kit Chapman. As Kit says, I wanted neither to duck the esoteric/spiritual aspects of the alchemical tradition & make it out to be *just* early chemistry, nor to over-emphasize those things as some books have. www.nature.com/articles/d41...

All about why we get Mendel wrong and why it matters. Watch the video where I explain the issues, or read excepts from several book reviews. kampourakis.com/how-we-get-m...

New Cambridge Element in the Philosophy of Biology series—fully #openaccess! @thomasreydon.bsky.social explores how evolutionary theory crosses over from biology into other fields, showing how these crossovers embody a broader style of reasoning: 'evolutionary thinking' bit.ly/48z3h36 #HPbio #evosky

Here is the Greek edition of my book Ancestry Reimagined. If you happen to be in Athens, Greece, on November 3, there will be a book discussion at the publisher's main bookstore. More info to come. cup.gr/book/ethniki...

“The big perspective change from ancient DNA study is that people living today are almost never the descendants of the people in the same place thousands of years before” news.harvard.edu/gazette/stor...

Why studies about reconstructing the past based on contemporary DNA makes me think of the streetlight effect open.substack.com/pub/kostaska...

Interesting! (To say the least).

Check out my latest book Trusting Science, using the attached 30% discount code, and let me know what you think!

Excited to participate in this very interesting conference: zasb.unibas.ch/de/veranstal...

Here is a substack post about heritability, related to my comment below: kostaskampourakis.substack.com/p/today-esti...

Here is a substack post about heritability, related to my comment below: kostaskampourakis.substack.com/p/today-esti...

"Today, estimates from twin studies attribute up to 90% of an individual’s height to their genetic makeup." This is not corrrect! What heritability studies show is that at the population level 90% of the differences in height are due to genetic differences. www.nature.com/articles/s41...

For those interested in my latest book, Trusting Science, here is a 30% discount code:

On Type I and II Errors, False Positives and False Negatives open.substack.com/pub/kostaska...

Gregor Mendel, geneticists' hero? Why is it so hard to understand a simple argument? open.substack.com/pub/kostaska...

Many thanks to @affifi.bsky.social, @kampourakisk.bsky.social, @thomasreydon.bsky.social, Maria-Elice Prestes, Susan Hanisch, William McComas, @cmooreanderson.bsky.social for the talks. Hybrid format didn't work out for the discussion, alas, but I look fwd to following your work! #ISHPSSB2025

Just signed off proofs of 'The Wonder of Life on Earth'. They're gorgeous! It's a shorter version of 'A (Very) Short Version of Life on Earth' re-written for pre-teens, illustrated by Raxenne Maniquiz. It's out in February but available for preorder www.panmacmillan.com/authors/henr...

I wrote a little bit about a cool recent paper looking at heritability estimates from very large registry data, and how we still really don't understand why outcomes track in families. A short 🧵:

Copies received! And it looks perfect! Always feels like the first time. Take a look when you have the chance. global.oup.com/academic/pro...

I ask my new + old followers to circulate this open access roundtable onAmerican science. Please repost! We in the USA are losing our lead in scientific research due to totalitarian tendencies in the current administration. This loss will affect all of us. journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

An interesting discussion, as ever with the ⁦‪Dissenter‬⁩, about my latest book Trusting Science youtube.com/watch?v=z-hC...

An interesting discussion, as ever with the ⁦‪Dissenter‬⁩, about my latest book Trusting Science youtube.com/watch?v=z-hC...

New episode (1105), with Dr. Kostas Kampourakis (@kampourakisk.bsky.social‬). We talk about his new book, Trusting Science: Why We Need to Reconsider School Science Teaching. #Science YouTube: youtu.be/z-hCoBsEp2s Podcast: bit.ly/4dNbAZV

When to trust scientific claims open.substack.com/pub/kostaska...

Elisabeth Vrba obituary www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10..... My thanks to Georg Vrba, Elisabeth’s husband, for information and photos on her life and work in South Africa.