Thank you for submitting to Nature Years. Based on feedback from independent expert reviewers, we are unable to accept 2026 in its present form. If you feel up to the task, we would be willing to consider a substantially revised version that addresses the major concerns raised...

Thank you for submitting to Nature Years. Based on feedback from independent expert reviewers, we are unable to accept 2026 in its present form. If you feel up to the task, we would be willing to consider a substantially revised version that addresses the major concerns raised...

A big benefit of travelling on a Eurostar train is that you get to enjoy the fascinating live travel statistics displayed on in-carriage info screens during your journey.

30 years ago today, December 31st 1995, the last ever Calvin & Hobbes comic strip was published. Even now, I still find it so poignant & moving.

I once fingerpicked "Street Spirit" (badly) on an acoustic guitar that I was considering buying, in a music shop in Oxford, unaware that Thom Yorke of Radiohead was standing directly behind me. My wife observed the sad affair but only informed me later, after we had exited said establishment.

For the interdisciplinary scientists at the Max Planck Society's little known North Pole Institute of Christmas Studies, this is always an especially busy time of year. Exclusive report by @tomgauld.bsky.social:

While stories of singular DNA changes that drove evolution of human brain/behaviour remain seductive, advances across multiple fields of biology cast doubt on such simplistic narratives of our origins. A new paper from my lab shows how biobanks may speak to this fundamental question.🧪 Explainer🧵👇1/n

While stories of singular DNA changes that drove evolution of human brain/behaviour remain seductive, advances across multiple fields of biology cast doubt on such simplistic narratives of our origins. A new paper from my lab shows how biobanks may speak to this fundamental question.🧪 Explainer🧵👇1/n

On our evolutionary branch, a few genes got an update unique to humans. Some used to think those variants might have been difference that made all the difference: the key to becoming human. This month's Q&A with Barbara Molz @mpi-nl.bsky.social gets into new results that tell a different story. 🧪

Heisenberg & Schrödinger get pulled over for speeding. Cop: D'you know how fast you were driving? Heisenberg: No but I know exactly where I am. Cop: It was 118mph. H: Thanks, now I'm lost. Cop [inspects car, opens boot]: Were you aware there's a dead cat back here? Schrödinger [angrily]: We are now!

“Findings suggest a major transition in human behaviour from ~500-300ka. Although the behavioural & cognitive changes certainly involved early Neanderthals & other contemporaneous humans, similar developments likely occurred among ancestors of Denisovans in east Eurasia & of H. sapiens in Africa“🔥😯🧪

How did DNA changes that alter protein structures impact evolution on the branch that led to modern humans? As we demonstrate today in Science Advances, biobanking initiatives offer ways to directly assess biological effects of rare archaic variants in living people, & (re)evaluate their roles. 🧬🧪

Psychiatric conditions show high comorbidity & genetic overlap, challenging diagnostic boundaries. @andrewgrotzinger.bsky.social et al applied cutting-edge statistical & functional genomics to 14 childhood- & adult-onset disorders (>1M cases) towards neurobiologically valid mental health nosology.👇🧪

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...

@adamrutherford.bsky.social 🤔

ICYMI, our recent paper gives a framework for empirical research on language evolution, integrating methods & data across fields + roles of biology & culture. If you're unable to download full version at Science, there's a link for direct free access on MPI website here: www.mpi.nl/publications... 🧪

In interests of balance, I note that ancient DNA, the gift that keeps giving, is also serving the dog lovers among you. See this new study of 2 canines with gray wolf genetic ancestry from a human archaeological site (3-5kya) on a remote island in Baltic Sea, by @pontus-skoglund.bsky.social & co:🧬🐶🧪

“Analysis of 87 ancient & modern cat genomes suggests that domestic cats did not spread to Europe with Neolithic farmers. Conversely, they were introduced to Europe around 2000 years ago, probably from North Africa....“ De Martino et al in @science.org. Ancient DNA + cats = science purrfection. 🧬🐱🧪

Happy World Linguistics Day! I write about #language in the key of narrative non-fiction; you might find my books interesting! A thread -- #lingsky #langsky #linguistics

You've never truly lived until you've tried explaining to an uninterested colleague why “Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo“ is indeed a grammatically correct sentence.

“Core aspects of language: it is inherently multimodal & semiotically diverse; it functions as a tool for semantic, pragmatic, & social inference; processes of interaction & transmission give rise to its central design features“ @symbolicstorage.bsky.social et al in @cp-trendscognsci.bsky.social:👇🧪

Testing 191 proposed linguistic universals with methods that account for genealogical descent & geographical proximity: “despite vast design space of possible grammars, languages don't evolve entirely at random. Shared cognitive/communicative pressures repeatedly push towards similar solutions.“👇🧪

A generalizable framework for rare disease variant interpretation, especially in singleton cases, demonstrating utility of calibrated, evolution-informed scoring models for clinical genomics. In @natgenet.nature.com, from labs of Mafalda Dias, @jonnyfrazer.bsky.social & @deboramarks.bsky.social.🧬🧪👇

This overview dovetails very nicely with the complementary, more historical and theoretical (albeit short) review of the study of language evolution in this entry in the Open Encyclopedia of Cognitive Science (open access for all): oecs.mit.edu/pub/18miikqb/

If you are unable to download the full version of our newly published language evolution article in Science, there is a link for direct free access on the Max Planck Institute website here:

Origins of language, one of humanity’s most distinctive traits, may be best explained as a unique convergence of multiple capacities each with its own evolutionary history, involving intertwined roles of biology & culture. This framing can expand research horizons. A 🧵 on our @science.org paper.🧪1/n

Current me: It's only one more project/talk/paper/review... Future me: Don't do this, I beg you. Current me: Super interesting, could find a way to fit it in... Future me: C'mon, remember the rule, just say no! Current me: & loads of time before the deadline... Future me: Wait, can you even hear me?

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

There must be some fundamental law of the universe that no matter how many times you go over the galley proofs, no matter how intensively you & your coauthors examine them, a glaring typo will sneak its way through in plain sight. I just caught one at the final hurdle, next time may not be so lucky.

“Critically assessing the literature, we found it beset by conceptual & methodological flaws & limitations, undermining claims that the gut microbiome is causally involved in etiology/pathophysiology of autism” Crucial PSA from @wiringthebrain.bsky.social @statsepi.bsky.social @deevybee.bsky.social🧪

With sequencing of Hitler's DNA making headlines, time for a reminder: analysing a polygenic score from a dead historically-significant figure won't give new insights into that person's behaviour. In a brief paper last year, we used Beethoven's genome to directly illustrate the fallacies involved.🧪👇

Unboxing Schrödinger's cat.

“Bonferonni correction”, an invaluable method in #statistics, refers to the act of repeatedly correcting misspellings of the word Bonferroni at multiple places in a draft manuscript. #science #academia

If you're interested in how advances in human genomics are transforming our understanding of the biology of spoken & written language abilities, please do check out my new peer-reviewed "tutorial" article, just published. 🗣️🧬🧪 [Will also make a Bsky explainer 🧵 on it next week when I get some time🙂.]

More than two decades have passed since we discovered that rare disruptions of the FOXP2 gene disturb development of proficient speech/language skills. Today we know of multiple FOXP genes that are directly implicated in distinct brain-related conditions with differences in symptoms & severity.🧪 1/n

A haunted house for academics but it's just a continual stream of ominous "decision on your manuscript" emails that you can never work up enough courage to open & read.

Come join us for a 4-year PhD on effects of rare gene disruptions involved in speech disorder, investigated in human neuronal models (via gene-editing, tissue culture, brain organoids, high-res microscopy, transcriptomics, epigenomics). More info: www.mpi.nl/imprs-phd-fe... #AcademicJobs #PhDJobs 🧬🧪

Help spread the word about developmental language disorder, a common yet often hidden condition that makes it hard for children to understand what's said to them & to articulate thoughts & feelings. Lots of helpful resources & information at radld.org. #DLDday #DevLangDis @radld.bsky.social

“NOVA1 is a gene distinguishing modern humans from extinct hominids but evolutionary pressures that selected the modern allele remain elusive...Lead exposure on human brain organoids carrying the archaic NOVA1 variant disrupts FOXP2 expression, a gene crucial for human speech/language abilities.”🤔🧪

There should be a word for that strange mix of naive optimism & existential dread that you experience in the brief period between submitting your scientific manuscript & having it desk-rejected by the journal editor.

"Returning manuscript without review."

New paper alert! Rare DNA changes in the SETBP1 gene are linked to speech problems & diverse syndromes affecting brain development. Work led by ace postdoc @maggiemkwong.bsky.social uncovered impact of different gene variants, coupling clinical/speech evaluation to molecular & cellular readouts.🧬🗣️🔬🧪

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 🗣️🧬🧪

Not gonna lie, just tried swiping to scroll to next page of a thesis that I'm reading, was surprised by lack of response, & only then did brain kick in to remind me it's a printed copy, & that's not how books work. Time for a break perhaps. 😬

Unique opportunity to direct your own innovative long-term research programme on the psychology of language at @mpi-nl.bsky.social, a leading interdisciplinary Max Planck Institute in Nijmegen, the Netherlands. Nominate yourself or a colleague by 19 December 2025. Please help us spread the word. 👇🧪

"Earlier- & later-diagnosed autism have different developmental trajectories & genetic profiles. The findings have important implications for how we conceptualize autism & provide a model to explain some of its diversity." @vw1234.bsky.social & an international team report today in @nature.com: 👇🧪

New analysis of a 1-million yr old fossil skull captured worldwide media attention this week, with many headlines saying it requires a complete rewrite/rethink of human evolution. This is an intriguing study & it's brilliant to see so much public enthusiasm for deciphering our origins, but....1/n 🧪

At points of our evolutionary history multiple Homo lineages coexisted. Insights into these depend mainly on rare fossil crania, damaged & deformed by age. Removing such distortions, new reconstructions of a 1-million-yr-old cranium from China suggest a surprising mix of primitive & derived traits:🧪

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. 👇🧪

New @maxplanck.de study: We looked for left-right differences of gene expression and cell-type abundances in the brains of MICE 🐭using Xenium @10xgenomics.bsky.social. Possible clues to how functional brain asymmetry is supported !! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... Short thread below ⬇️