Kostas Kampourakis

@kampourakisk.bsky.social

2K followers 160 following 320 posts

Author and editor of books intended to help non-experts understand science. Interested in anything about evolution, development, heredity and nature of science.

Videos

Philosophy 29%

Biology 23%

Posts Replies Media Videos

Kostas Kampourakis @kampourakisk.bsky.social · 2d

Here is the reference : www.science.org/content/arti...

Remote Greek culture has been a genetic ‘island’ for 4500 years

New DNA analysis links Deep Maniots to Greece’s premedieval past

www.science.org

Kostas Kampourakis @kampourakisk.bsky.social · 2d

should be taken with a grain of salt. A larger sample could reveal genetic links between Deep Maniots and other populations that this data set is too small to detect. “This is an interesting study, but it does not prove any cultural or historical reality,” Gardner notes”

As simple as that…

Remote Greek culture has been a genetic ‘island’ for 4500 years

New DNA analysis links Deep Maniots to Greece’s premedieval past

www.science.org

Kostas Kampourakis @kampourakisk.bsky.social · 2d

And I of course agree with this : “Chelsea Gardner, an archeologist at Acadia University who was not involved in the new research, says the study’s relatively small sample size of Deep Maniot genetics—only 102 people with confirmed Maniot ancestry—means its findings of genetic isolation …

Kostas Kampourakis @kampourakisk.bsky.social · 2d

Well, as ever, exaggerated claims - perhaps confirmation bias? - overlooking that mtDNA and YDNA are a very minor portion of the genome. Or that ancient DNA samples are not yet sufficient, as I have explained here: kampourakis.com/ancestry-rei...

Ancestry Reimagined – Kostas Kampourakis

kampourakis.com

Kostas Kampourakis @kampourakisk.bsky.social · 2d

“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...

Uniparental analysis of Deep Maniot Greeks reveals genetic continuity from the pre-Medieval era - Communications Biology

Deep Maniot Greeks preserve Y-DNA and mtDNA from Bronze-to-Roman Age Greece, largely untouched by later migrations. Genetics reveal historical demography, settlement patterns in southern Greece, and t...

www.nature.com

Reposted by Kostas Kampourakis

Matthew Cobb @matthewcobb.bsky.social · Jan 4

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).

Rethinking the Discovery of DNA

About this episode: Francis Crick is best known as one of the figures behind the discovery of the double-helix structure of DNA, but the familiar story leaves out as much as it explains. Historian of...

www.skeptic.com

Kostas Kampourakis @kampourakisk.bsky.social · Dec 24

I strongly recommend this book by @ent3c.bsky.social www.cambridge.org/core/books/u...

Understanding the Nature‒Nurture Debate

Cambridge Core - Genetics - Understanding the Nature‒Nurture Debate

www.cambridge.org

Kostas Kampourakis @kampourakisk.bsky.social · Dec 9

Congratulations!!!

Kostas Kampourakis @kampourakisk.bsky.social · Dec 8

You may then be interested in this book : kampourakis.com/how-we-get-m...

How we Get Mendel Wrong, and Why it Matters | Kostas Kampourakis

kampourakis.com

Reposted by Kostas Kampourakis

Philip Ball @philipcball.bsky.social · Dec 3

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...

James D Watson: a cautionary tale

There was always going to be a complex reckoning in the obituaries of James D Watson (1928–2025), the American geneticist who co-discovered the structure of DNA. For many years, Watson was one of the ...

www.thelancet.com

Reposted by Kostas Kampourakis

Henry Gee @endofthepier.bsky.social · Dec 2

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...

Reposted by Kostas Kampourakis

Matthew Cobb @matthewcobb.bsky.social · Nov 26

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...

Reposted by Eric J. Topol, Kostas Kampourakis

Matthew Cobb @matthewcobb.bsky.social · Nov 25

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

Matthew Cobb (@matthewcobb2)

This was a terrific discussion with Eric about my new biography of Francis Crick.

substack.com

Kostas Kampourakis @kampourakisk.bsky.social · Nov 25

When to trust scientific claims (RFKj's ones included)

substack.com/@kostaskampo...

When to trust scientific claims

This is what we should be teaching in schools!

substack.com

Reposted by Kostas Kampourakis

Philip Ball @philipcball.bsky.social · Nov 24

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...

The Creativity of Life: A Conversation with Naomi Moris, Part 1

YouTube video by Marginalia Review of Books

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