Kostas Kampourakis
@kampourakisk.bsky.social
Author and editor of books intended to help non-experts understand science. Interested in anything about evolution, development, heredity and nature of science.
Reposted by Kostas Kampourakis
Reposted by Kostas Kampourakis
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?
As I told the CNN, without details and data it is not possible to assess the claims.
More importantly, the scientific value of this media campaign, balanced against the possible stigmatization of individuals with these real conditions today, is highly questionable. edition.cnn.com/2025/11/13/s...
More importantly, the scientific value of this media campaign, balanced against the possible stigmatization of individuals with these real conditions today, is highly questionable. edition.cnn.com/2025/11/13/s...
Researchers say they have verified and sequenced Hitler’s DNA – and found a genetic disorder | CNN
Analysis of Adolf Hitler’s DNA reveals he may have had a rare genetic disorder that can delay puberty.
edition.cnn.com
November 15, 2025 at 3:19 AM
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?
Reposted by Kostas Kampourakis
A thoughtful review of CRICK - “vivid and authoritative” - in @nytimes.com.
The Building Blocks of Life Were Just the Beginning
www.nytimes.com
November 14, 2025 at 5:25 PM
A thoughtful review of CRICK - “vivid and authoritative” - in @nytimes.com.
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...
global.oup.com/academic/pro...
November 14, 2025 at 7:22 AM
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...
global.oup.com/academic/pro...
Reposted by Kostas Kampourakis
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.
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.
I wrote a review of James Watson's obituary by CSHL: liorpachter.wordpress.com/2025/11/08/r...
Review of Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory’s Obituary for Dr. James Watson
James Watson, who described himself as “not a racist in a conventional way”, has died at the age of 97. Below is a review of an obituary for Dr. James Watson published by Cold Spring Ha…
liorpachter.wordpress.com
November 13, 2025 at 10:03 PM
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.
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.
Reposted by Kostas Kampourakis
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...
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...
James Watson, Co-Discoverer of the Structure of DNA, Is Dead at 97
www.nytimes.com
November 7, 2025 at 8:39 PM
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...
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...
Reposted by Kostas Kampourakis
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.
If I see one more stupid Rosalind Franklin take I'm going to lose my mind. Thank god for @matthewcobb.bsky.social and @nccomfort.bsky.social. www.nature.com/articles/d41...
What Rosalind Franklin truly contributed to the discovery of DNA’s structure
Franklin was no victim in how the DNA double helix was solved. An overlooked letter and an unpublished news article, both written in 1953, reveal that she was an equal player.
www.nature.com
November 8, 2025 at 7:32 AM
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.
Reposted by Kostas Kampourakis
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...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Tracing human genetic histories and natural selection with precise local ancestry inference - Nature Communications
Here the authors present a local ancestry inference algorithm with superior accuracy, and use it to shed light on the demographic histories of Latin Americans and the Askenazi Jewish, and to map a can...
www.nature.com
October 18, 2025 at 1:04 PM
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...
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...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Tracing human genetic histories and natural selection with precise local ancestry inference - Nature Communications
Here the authors present a local ancestry inference algorithm with superior accuracy, and use it to shed light on the demographic histories of Latin Americans and the Askenazi Jewish, and to map a can...
www.nature.com
October 18, 2025 at 1:04 PM
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...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Kostas Kampourakis
Why studies about reconstructing the past based on contemporary DNA makes me think of the streetlight effect
open.substack.com/pub/kostaska...
open.substack.com/pub/kostaska...
September 15, 2025 at 6:19 PM
Why studies about reconstructing the past based on contemporary DNA makes me think of the streetlight effect
open.substack.com/pub/kostaska...
open.substack.com/pub/kostaska...
Reposted by Kostas Kampourakis
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.
Your Genes Are Simply Not Enough to Explain How Smart You Are
Seven years ago, I took a bet with Charles Murray about whether we’d basically understand the genetics of intelligence by now.
www.theatlantic.com
October 13, 2025 at 1:33 PM
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.
Reposted by Kostas Kampourakis
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...
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Client Challenge
www.nature.com
October 13, 2025 at 3:39 PM
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...
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...
kampourakis.com/how-we-get-m...
October 12, 2025 at 3:41 PM
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...
kampourakis.com/how-we-get-m...
Reposted by Kostas Kampourakis
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
October 3, 2025 at 10:50 AM
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...
cup.gr/book/ethniki...
October 2, 2025 at 6:57 AM
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...
cup.gr/book/ethniki...
Reposted by Kostas Kampourakis
“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...
news.harvard.edu/gazette/stor...
Pure bloodlines? Ancestral homelands? DNA science says no. — Harvard Gazette
Geneticist explains recent analyses made possible by tech advances show human history to be one of mixing, movement, displacement.
news.harvard.edu
September 20, 2025 at 8:05 AM
“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...
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...
open.substack.com/pub/kostaska...
September 15, 2025 at 6:19 PM
Why studies about reconstructing the past based on contemporary DNA makes me think of the streetlight effect
open.substack.com/pub/kostaska...
open.substack.com/pub/kostaska...
Interesting! (To say the least).
News in the history of molecular biology. The Science History Institute in Philadelphia has acquired a huge archive of correspondence and other scientific material from the pioneers of molecular biology (Franklin, Klug, Perutz, Delbrück etc, with items from Crick and Watson, too). 1/n
History of Molecular Biology Collection
This unparalleled collection includes Rosalind Franklin's historic 'Photo 51,' which revealed the double-helix structure of DNA.
www.sciencehistory.org
September 8, 2025 at 6:34 PM
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!
September 6, 2025 at 1:35 PM
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...
September 1, 2025 at 5:00 AM
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...
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...
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...
The genetic basis of human height - Nature Reviews Genetics
Genetic factors that influence human height encompass rare monogenic variants as well as common and rare polygenic variants. In this Review, Bicknell et al. summarize our current understanding of the ...
www.nature.com
August 18, 2025 at 1:36 PM
Here is a substack post about heritability, related to my comment below:
kostaskampourakis.substack.com/p/today-esti...
kostaskampourakis.substack.com/p/today-esti...
Here is a substack post about heritability, related to my comment below:
kostaskampourakis.substack.com/p/today-esti...
kostaskampourakis.substack.com/p/today-esti...
August 18, 2025 at 1:17 PM
Here is a substack post about heritability, related to my comment below:
kostaskampourakis.substack.com/p/today-esti...
kostaskampourakis.substack.com/p/today-esti...