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profsimonfisher.bsky.social
Simon Fisher
@profsimonfisher.bsky.social
3.3K followers 240 following 340 posts
Director of Language & Genetics at Max Planck Institute, Nijmegen.
Tracing the complex connections between genes, brains, speech & language.
Website: https://www.mpi.nl/people/fisher-simon-e
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3132-1996
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profsimonfisher.bsky.social
Simon Fisher @profsimonfisher.bsky.social · May 2
Remember when you first learned about genetics at school? All those fascinating examples of human traits that are each apparently determined by just a single gene? Time to check in on some of your favourites to see how they’re doing. 🧬🧵🧪 1/n
Four images to illustrate some prominent single-gene myths. Top left shows a photograph of a person deftly rolling their tongue into a U-shape. Top right shows a photograph of a person’s ear, highlighting the shape and features of the earlobe and cartilage. Bottom left shows a close-up photograph of a person’s eye, with a vivid blue colouration. Bottom right shows a photograph of a person poised to write with their left hand on the blank white page of a spiral-bound notebook.
profsimonfisher.bsky.social
Unboxing Schrödinger's cat.
Opening a shoebox reveals the contents: a beautiful (and very much alive) tortoise-shell cat, with an orange streak on its forehead.
November 3, 2025 at 9:57 PM
Reposted by Simon Fisher
profsimonfisher.bsky.social
“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
November 11, 2024 at 2:52 PM
profsimonfisher.bsky.social
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🙂.]
Genomic Investigations of Spoken and Written Language Abilities: A Guide to Advances in Approaches, Technologies, and Discovery
Purpose: The aim of this tutorial is to show how the rise of molecular technologies and analytical methods in human genetics yields exciting new ...
pubs.asha.org
October 30, 2025 at 3:49 PM
profsimonfisher.bsky.social
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 depiction of expression patterns of the FOXP1, FOXP2, and FOXP4 genes in the brain, based on the developmental human RNA sequencing dataset of BrainSpan (http://www.brainspan.org/). Data cover different prenatal timepoints starting at 8-to-10 weeks postconception (abbreviated as pcs), postnatal timepoints from 0-to-12 months (abbreviated as mos), and expression measured in adulthood. A dashed vertical line represents time of birth. Individual dots are shown each representing one brain sample, and lines show loess curves fitted through the datapoints. The analyzed brain regions are A1C, primary auditory cortex; CB, cerebellum; CBC, cerebellar cortex; DFC, dorsolateral prefrontal cortex; DTH, dorsal thalamic nucleus; HIP, hippocampus; IPC, inferior parietal cortex; ITC, inferior temporal cortex; M1C, primary motor cortex; MD, mediodorsal thalamic nucleus; MFC, medial frontal cortex; OFC, orbitofrontal; S1C, primary sensory cortex; STR, striatum; TC, superior temporal cortex; V1C, primary visual cortex; VFC, ventromedial prefrontal cortex. This image comes from Figure 1 of a paper entitled “Molecular networks of the FOXP2 transcription factor in the brain” written by den Hoed, Devaraju and Fisher, published in the journal EMBO Reports in August 2021 (Volume 22, article e58203).
October 29, 2025 at 5:09 PM
profsimonfisher.bsky.social
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.
October 24, 2025 at 7:54 AM
profsimonfisher.bsky.social
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
🧬🧪
Photograph of researchers at their benches in the custom-built molecular biology labs of the Max Planck Institute in Nijmegen, with green trees of the forest outside visible through large windows in the background.
October 22, 2025 at 3:43 PM
profsimonfisher.bsky.social
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
Flyer on Developmental Language Disorder, prepared by the organisation RADLD (Raising Awareness of Developmental Language Disorder). The flyer has the title "You can't see DLD" and shows a photograph of a boy in a blue short-sleeved shirt and khaki trousers, against a purple background. To the right of him there are lines of text which read: - Started to talk later than his siblings - Has difficulties learning new words - Needs lots of repetitions to follow instructions - Struggles to join activities & discussions The bottom of the flyer says "Support #DLDday on Friday 17th October 2025. Learn more at RADLD.ORG".
October 17, 2025 at 9:34 AM
profsimonfisher.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.”🤔🧪
Impact of intermittent lead exposure on hominid brain evolution
Lead exposure, as influenced by NOVA1 expression, affected brain function in multiple hominid species.
www.science.org
October 16, 2025 at 3:46 PM
profsimonfisher.bsky.social
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.
October 16, 2025 at 10:53 AM
profsimonfisher.bsky.social
"Returning manuscript without review."
impavid.us 🏰meg⚔️ @Birthright Audiobook! @impavid.us · Oct 9
In honor of spooky month, share a 4 word horror story that only someone in your profession would understand

I'll go first: Six page commercial lease.
October 12, 2025 at 7:04 PM
profsimonfisher.bsky.social
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.🧬🗣️🔬🧪
SETBP1 variants outside the degron disrupt DNA-binding, transcription and neuronal differentiation capacity to cause a heterogeneous neurodevelopmental disorder - Nature Communications
Different types of SETBP1 variants cause variable developmental syndromes with only partial clinical and functional overlaps. Here, the authors report that SETBP1 variants outside the degron region impair DNA-binding, transcription, and neuronal differentiation capacity and morphologies.
www.nature.com
October 10, 2025 at 5:36 PM
profsimonfisher.bsky.social
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
🗣️🧬🧪
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.
October 4, 2025 at 1:34 PM
profsimonfisher.bsky.social
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. 😬
October 3, 2025 at 5:33 PM
profsimonfisher.bsky.social
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. 👇🧪
mpi-nl.bsky.social Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics @mpi-nl.bsky.social · Oct 3
We're seeking the next Director of the Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics! Lead cutting-edge research in language & cognition. Nominations (incl. self) due 19 Dec 2025.
mpi.nl/career-education/vacancies/vacancy/nominations-and-self-nominations-sought-position-director-max
October 3, 2025 at 8:18 AM
profsimonfisher.bsky.social
"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: 👇🧪
Polygenic and developmental profiles of autism differ by age at diagnosis - Nature
A study of several longitudinal birth cohorts and cross-sectional cohorts finds only moderate overlap in genetic variants between autism that is diagnosed earlier and that diagnosed later, so they may represent aetiologically different conditions.
www.nature.com
October 1, 2025 at 3:35 PM
profsimonfisher.bsky.social
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 🧪
Image shows just two example headlines from prominent media outlets earlier this week, heralding a newly published discovery that supposedly "rewrites human evolution". Left side, from the BBC: "Million-year-old skull rewrites human evolution, scientists claim"; right side, from the New York Post: "1M-year-old skull discovery could change everything we know about human evolution".
September 27, 2025 at 12:40 PM
profsimonfisher.bsky.social
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:🧪
The phylogenetic position of the Yunxian cranium elucidates the origin of Homo longi and the Denisovans
Diverse forms of Homo coexisted during the Middle Pleistocene. Whether these fossil humans represent different species or clades is debated. The ~1-million-year-old Yunxian 2 fossil from China is impo...
www.science.org
September 25, 2025 at 7:07 PM
profsimonfisher.bsky.social
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. 👇🧪
Musical rhythm abilities and risk for developmental speech-language problems and disorders: epidemiological and polygenic associations - Nature Communications
Impaired musical rhythm abilities and developmental speech-language related disorders are biologically and clinically intertwined. Here, the authors explore the correlation between the two traits, finding evidence of epidemiological associations and genetic overlap.
www.nature.com
September 25, 2025 at 6:18 PM
Reposted by Simon Fisher
clydefrancks.bsky.social
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 ⬇️
September 12, 2025 at 7:10 AM
profsimonfisher.bsky.social
"Part of maturing as a field is to recognize its history: to decide what to keep, & what we must outgrow, both in how we train the next generation of researchers & in how we help the public make sense of our past." @dr-appie.bsky.social's nuanced take on social science genetics, well worth a read.👇🧪
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.
communities.springernature.com
September 9, 2025 at 12:26 PM
profsimonfisher.bsky.social
This goes to eleven.
A cartoon by Tom Gauld about what happens when you turn it up to eleven. Two scientists are in front of a computer terminal, observing the screen. The first scientist explains: "The simulator can replicate our world at various levels of detail. Level one presents you as a rudimentary icon." The second scientist looks at the screen which indeed shows a very low resolution image of his head. The first scientist goes on: "Whereas level ten is almost identical to the real you." The image now showing on the screen looks just like the second scientist (i.e. a Tom Gauld styled cartoon depiction of his head). The second scientist is impressed. "Incredible! What happens at level eleven?", he asks. Ignoring the first scientist's warning ("Don't press that!"), he rashly pushes a big button labelled "11" which gives a satisfying click. "Aaagh!" cries the shocked man. The screen now shows a dramatically more realistic image of him than anywhere in the rest of the cartoon.
September 6, 2025 at 4:24 PM
profsimonfisher.bsky.social
Applications open for fully funded 4-yr positions in the unique interdisciplinary program of the @maxplanck.de School of Cognition. Pursue a passion for science at the forefront of fundamental & applied research, mentored by a network of world renowned researchers.🧪
cognition.maxplanckschools.org/en
Flyer advertising the Max Planck School of Cognition 4-year PhD fellowship programme, with a photograph of prior fellows. Interdisciplinary research, outstanding faculty, fully financed. You can now apply, sign up for the Applicant Support Program, and/or register for a Q & A session, all via the webpage: cognition.maxplanckschools.org
September 4, 2025 at 12:08 PM
profsimonfisher.bsky.social
Excited by the revelation, just 6.5 hours into my 7-hour overnight flight, that the headrest of my seat could be cleverly folded inwards on each side, thereby enhancing comfort & facilitating sleep.
September 3, 2025 at 5:53 PM
profsimonfisher.bsky.social
Extraordinary resource! "Comprehensive recordings from 621,733 neurons in 297 brain areas of 139 mice (12 labs) performing a decision-making task with sensory, motor & cognitive components: a public dataset to understand how computations distributed across & within brain areas drive behaviour."👇🧪
A brain-wide map of neural activity during complex behaviour - Nature
The International Brain Laboratory presents a brain-wide electrophysiological map obtained from pooling data from 12 laboratories that performed the same standardized perceptual decision-making task i...
www.nature.com
September 3, 2025 at 3:07 PM
profsimonfisher.bsky.social
A reminder that there is no scientific basis for attempts to define people in terms of “good” or “bad” genes - these are discredited views in service of racist ideologies. For the consensus from the experts, see e.g. this 2020 @geneticssociety.bsky.social statement:
www.ashg.org/publications... 🧬🧪
Statement from the American Society of Human Genetics in 2020, countering the myth of "good genes". It reads as follows: "Genetics demonstrates that humans cannot be divided into biologically distinct subcategories or races, and any efforts to claim the superiority of humans based on any genetic ancestry have no scientific evidence. Moreover, it is inaccurate to claim genetics as the determinative factor in human strengths or outcomes when education, environment, wealth, and health care access are often more potent factors. There is no factual basis for attempts to define communities or regions of people with "good" or "bad" genes and a century of science has debunked such claims, which can feed discredited views and racist ideologies. Unchecked, unethical application of false genetic "theories" have resulted in past atrocities from forced sterilizations to the Holocaust and can still fuel unethical social policies worldwide today. Over the decades, our field also has reflected on its own role in such now-condemned ideas, and we speak out vocally as a community and as individuals to combat their resurgence. We must protect and advance the ethical use of genetics and genomics knowledge for the profound good it can realize, including better, more precise healthcare that leverages what we are discovering about human genetic commonality and diversity. The human genetics community dedicates itself to this goal each day, and today we are improving and saving hundreds of thousands of lives. As the ASHG community focuses on realizing the benefits of human genetics and genomics research for people everywhere, we also urge societal attention to address profound educational, economic and health inequalities that fuel differences in human experience and well-being. By pursuing all of these activities, humans can celebrate our common heritage as one people, embrace and fully tap our valued diversity, and help achieve optimal life outcomes for all."
August 29, 2025 at 5:48 PM