Kristján Moore (Kris)🔸
@kristjanmoore.bsky.social
Research at deCODE genetics: genomic ancestry, ancient DNA, and whatever else needs doing. Trying to have true beliefs. 🇬🇧🇮🇸
Pinned
bio_anth_decode / haploGrouper · GitLab
A software to classify haplotypes into haplogroups on the basis of a known phylogenetic tree.
gitlab.com
We have updated HaploGrouper, our haplogroup assignment program.
The most notable change is a new fork of the ISOGG 2019 chrY tree in which we correct the placement of 4200 mutations after analysis of 300k chrY sequences.
Gitlab repo linked in this post - and see thread below for more details: 1/
The most notable change is a new fork of the ISOGG 2019 chrY tree in which we correct the placement of 4200 mutations after analysis of 300k chrY sequences.
Gitlab repo linked in this post - and see thread below for more details: 1/
Reposted by Kristján Moore (Kris)🔸
I learn from my students of the Icelandic Saga map: hours of fun! sagamap.hi.is/is/
Icelandic Saga Map
sagamap.hi.is
November 12, 2025 at 11:25 AM
I learn from my students of the Icelandic Saga map: hours of fun! sagamap.hi.is/is/
Reposted by Kristján Moore (Kris)🔸
Revisiting the Evolution of Lactase Persistence: Insights from South Asian Genomes https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.11.05.686799v1
November 6, 2025 at 11:32 PM
Revisiting the Evolution of Lactase Persistence: Insights from South Asian Genomes https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.11.05.686799v1
Apropos of nothing in particular, I think it's useful to signal-boost this old paper on "how not to over-interpret ADMIXTURE bar plots". www.nature.com/articles/s41...
A tutorial on how not to over-interpret STRUCTURE and ADMIXTURE bar plots - Nature Communications
Clustering methods such as STRUCTURE and ADMIXTURE are widely used in population genetic studies to investigate ancestry. Here, the authors provide a tutorial on how to interpret results of these anal...
www.nature.com
October 27, 2025 at 11:53 AM
Apropos of nothing in particular, I think it's useful to signal-boost this old paper on "how not to over-interpret ADMIXTURE bar plots". www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Can't believe I'd never heard of Euplotes before today: single-celled organisms who scurry around on little "legs"! Around 50 μm long, so ~1000x smaller than a tardigrade. This one has a kind of horseshoe crab habitus, flattened and with a "carapace". Incredible.
youtu.be/uJF30emkWt8?...
youtu.be/uJF30emkWt8?...
Ciliates Euplotes
YouTube video by Microvisum
youtu.be
October 9, 2025 at 9:36 AM
Can't believe I'd never heard of Euplotes before today: single-celled organisms who scurry around on little "legs"! Around 50 μm long, so ~1000x smaller than a tardigrade. This one has a kind of horseshoe crab habitus, flattened and with a "carapace". Incredible.
youtu.be/uJF30emkWt8?...
youtu.be/uJF30emkWt8?...
Reposted by Kristján Moore (Kris)🔸
The big tech companies are reversing the intellectual and political gains of the Enlightenment and returning us to a New Dark Ages of ignorance, rage and superstition - it's the most important story of our time
jmarriott.substack.com/p/the-dawn-o...
jmarriott.substack.com/p/the-dawn-o...
September 20, 2025 at 12:03 PM
The big tech companies are reversing the intellectual and political gains of the Enlightenment and returning us to a New Dark Ages of ignorance, rage and superstition - it's the most important story of our time
jmarriott.substack.com/p/the-dawn-o...
jmarriott.substack.com/p/the-dawn-o...
Something deeply strange happened to the ADMIXTURE run here! The American component, and to some extent the European one, seem to have been co-opted to describe Arab variation. Very little real indigenous American ancestry here, as indicated by e.g. mitochondrial haplogroup counts.
September 15, 2025 at 5:27 PM
Something deeply strange happened to the ADMIXTURE run here! The American component, and to some extent the European one, seem to have been co-opted to describe Arab variation. Very little real indigenous American ancestry here, as indicated by e.g. mitochondrial haplogroup counts.
Reposted by Kristján Moore (Kris)🔸
Kristin Tsuo, @genetisaur.bsky.social, & Mark Daly just wrote the best proteomics paper I've read.
They convincingly show how smoking and alcohol (aka, the environment) dramatically influences proteomics data.
Some 🤯 results
1) proteomics predicts frequency (5a) & quanity (5b) of alcohol consumed
They convincingly show how smoking and alcohol (aka, the environment) dramatically influences proteomics data.
Some 🤯 results
1) proteomics predicts frequency (5a) & quanity (5b) of alcohol consumed
September 11, 2025 at 3:03 PM
Kristin Tsuo, @genetisaur.bsky.social, & Mark Daly just wrote the best proteomics paper I've read.
They convincingly show how smoking and alcohol (aka, the environment) dramatically influences proteomics data.
Some 🤯 results
1) proteomics predicts frequency (5a) & quanity (5b) of alcohol consumed
They convincingly show how smoking and alcohol (aka, the environment) dramatically influences proteomics data.
Some 🤯 results
1) proteomics predicts frequency (5a) & quanity (5b) of alcohol consumed
Reposted by Kristján Moore (Kris)🔸
A study led by @zhofmanova.bsky.social @mpi-eva-leipzig.bsky.social used ancient DNA to investigate the spread of Slavic language and culture 1,500 years ago. “This wasn’t a migration of elites, or a few male warriors,” 1 co-author says. “This was the migration of an entire population.” @science.org
Ancient skeletons’ genes reveal origin of the Slavic people
DNA connects modern Slavs to a wave of migration following the fall of the Roman Empire
www.science.org
September 3, 2025 at 3:30 PM
A study led by @zhofmanova.bsky.social @mpi-eva-leipzig.bsky.social used ancient DNA to investigate the spread of Slavic language and culture 1,500 years ago. “This wasn’t a migration of elites, or a few male warriors,” 1 co-author says. “This was the migration of an entire population.” @science.org
Reposted by Kristján Moore (Kris)🔸
Are you interested in doing a PhD in Copenhagen? Interested in studying Neanderthals and Denisovans which live on in our genomes?
Than you are more than welcome to apply to join my group starting Jan 2026 :)
candidate.hr-manager.net/ApplicationI...
Please reach out if you have any questions!
Than you are more than welcome to apply to join my group starting Jan 2026 :)
candidate.hr-manager.net/ApplicationI...
Please reach out if you have any questions!
August 28, 2025 at 12:35 PM
Are you interested in doing a PhD in Copenhagen? Interested in studying Neanderthals and Denisovans which live on in our genomes?
Than you are more than welcome to apply to join my group starting Jan 2026 :)
candidate.hr-manager.net/ApplicationI...
Please reach out if you have any questions!
Than you are more than welcome to apply to join my group starting Jan 2026 :)
candidate.hr-manager.net/ApplicationI...
Please reach out if you have any questions!
Reposted by Kristján Moore (Kris)🔸
I wrote about gene-gene interactions (epistasis) and the implications for heritability, trait definitions, natural selection, and therapeutic interventions. Biology is clearly full of causal interactions, so why don't we see them in the data? A 🧵:
Beneath the surface of the sum
When genetic interactions matter and when they don't
open.substack.com
August 27, 2025 at 8:41 PM
I wrote about gene-gene interactions (epistasis) and the implications for heritability, trait definitions, natural selection, and therapeutic interventions. Biology is clearly full of causal interactions, so why don't we see them in the data? A 🧵:
Reposted by Kristján Moore (Kris)🔸
**Please repost** If you're enjoying Paper Skygest -- our personalized feed of academic content on Bluesky -- we'd appreciate you reposting this! We’ve found that the most effective way for us to reach new users and communities is through users sharing it with their network
August 19, 2025 at 5:15 PM
**Please repost** If you're enjoying Paper Skygest -- our personalized feed of academic content on Bluesky -- we'd appreciate you reposting this! We’ve found that the most effective way for us to reach new users and communities is through users sharing it with their network
Reposted by Kristján Moore (Kris)🔸
High resolution analysis of population structure using rare variants https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.07.18.665597v1
July 23, 2025 at 11:32 PM
High resolution analysis of population structure using rare variants https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.07.18.665597v1
Reposted by Kristján Moore (Kris)🔸
Even if individuals with recent African ancestry, such as these, were relatively rare in medieval NW Europe, we can probably expect many more such discoveries as increasing numbers of ancient and historical genomes are sequenced.
www.science.org/content/arti...
www.science.org/content/arti...
Youths buried in Anglo-Saxon cemeteries carried West African DNA
Despite bearing remarkably far-flung genetic origins, a girl and young man were buried just like their peers
www.science.org
August 13, 2025 at 9:04 AM
Even if individuals with recent African ancestry, such as these, were relatively rare in medieval NW Europe, we can probably expect many more such discoveries as increasing numbers of ancient and historical genomes are sequenced.
www.science.org/content/arti...
www.science.org/content/arti...
Reposted by Kristján Moore (Kris)🔸
Always good when senior USSR officials lie about independent European scientific research and call for its retraction.
Oh wait sorry, I meant US.
www.reuters.com/business/hea...
Oh wait sorry, I meant US.
www.reuters.com/business/hea...
Exclusive: Medical journal rejects Kennedy's call for retraction of vaccine study
An influential U.S. medical journal is rejecting a call from Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to retract a large Danish study that found that aluminum ingredients in vaccines do not increase health risks for children, the journal's editor told Reuters.
www.reuters.com
August 11, 2025 at 10:15 PM
Always good when senior USSR officials lie about independent European scientific research and call for its retraction.
Oh wait sorry, I meant US.
www.reuters.com/business/hea...
Oh wait sorry, I meant US.
www.reuters.com/business/hea...
Reposted by Kristján Moore (Kris)🔸
Our study of WGS of all UK biobank participants published in final form
rdcu.be/ezAyi
rdcu.be/ezAyi
Whole-genome sequencing of 490,640 UK Biobank participants
Nature - A study reports whole-genome sequences for 490,640 participants from the UK Biobank and combines these data with phenotypic data to provide new insights into the relationship between human...
rdcu.be
August 6, 2025 at 4:20 PM
Our study of WGS of all UK biobank participants published in final form
rdcu.be/ezAyi
rdcu.be/ezAyi
Reposted by Kristján Moore (Kris)🔸
Benchmarking Imputed Low Coverage Genomes in a Human Population Genetics Context onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
Benchmarking Imputed Low Coverage Genomes in a Human Population Genetics Context
Ongoing advances in population genomic methodologies have recently enabled the study of millions of loci across hundreds of genomes at a relatively low cost, by leveraging a combination of low-covera...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
July 10, 2025 at 7:54 AM
Benchmarking Imputed Low Coverage Genomes in a Human Population Genetics Context onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
Characteristics of papers and authors affecting risk of irreproducible results*. Higher risk associated with high-ranked universities, perhaps also dilettante last authors and glam journals.
*in Drosophila immunity, according to a mostly subjective, literature-based reproducibility measure.
*in Drosophila immunity, according to a mostly subjective, literature-based reproducibility measure.
When everything is considered together (w/ caveats), the most prestigious institutes are the most likely to produce irreproducible work. Journal tier was a more minor effect, and in fact, "high-impact" but not "trophy" journals publish the most reproducible science.
But, many caveats (cont.)
4.3/n
But, many caveats (cont.)
4.3/n
July 10, 2025 at 10:51 AM
Characteristics of papers and authors affecting risk of irreproducible results*. Higher risk associated with high-ranked universities, perhaps also dilettante last authors and glam journals.
*in Drosophila immunity, according to a mostly subjective, literature-based reproducibility measure.
*in Drosophila immunity, according to a mostly subjective, literature-based reproducibility measure.
Sent a cold email in March to a young researcher and entrepreneur warning him that the "short-sleep gene" studies he was basing his work on were bogus.
Very relieved that it eventually had the intended result. Shocking amounts of time and resources are still being wasted on candidate gene results.
Very relieved that it eventually had the intended result. Shocking amounts of time and resources are still being wasted on candidate gene results.
July 3, 2025 at 5:23 PM
Sent a cold email in March to a young researcher and entrepreneur warning him that the "short-sleep gene" studies he was basing his work on were bogus.
Very relieved that it eventually had the intended result. Shocking amounts of time and resources are still being wasted on candidate gene results.
Very relieved that it eventually had the intended result. Shocking amounts of time and resources are still being wasted on candidate gene results.
Reposted by Kristján Moore (Kris)🔸
Our paper @hakonjon.bsky.social (missing other colleagues from Bluesky!), Sequence diversity lost in early pregnancy, was published in Nature (@nature.com) today
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Sequence diversity lost in early pregnancy - Nature
Around 1 in 136 pregnancies is lost due to a pathogenic small sequence variant genotype in the fetus.
www.nature.com
May 21, 2025 at 4:25 PM
Our paper @hakonjon.bsky.social (missing other colleagues from Bluesky!), Sequence diversity lost in early pregnancy, was published in Nature (@nature.com) today
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Kristján Moore (Kris)🔸
Kári Stefánsson, founder and CEO of deCODE Genetics, the Icelandic company wholly owned by Amgen but operated largely independently, has been fired.
www.mbl.is/frettir/innl...
www.mbl.is/frettir/innl...
Hoppuðu upp í einkaþotu til að vera komnir til Íslands á undan mér
„Þetta er ósköp einfalt, ég var boðaður á fund og sagt að ég væri rekinn,“ sagði Kári Stefánsson, sem staddur var í Kaliforníu þegar náðist í hann. „Síðan var ég skilinn eftir inni í herbergi, stjórne...
www.mbl.is
May 4, 2025 at 10:04 PM
Kári Stefánsson, founder and CEO of deCODE Genetics, the Icelandic company wholly owned by Amgen but operated largely independently, has been fired.
www.mbl.is/frettir/innl...
www.mbl.is/frettir/innl...
Reposted by Kristján Moore (Kris)🔸
I am recruiting a quantitative/computational postdoc to my group at UCLA. This is a great opportunity to work on foundational theory, methods, and software in statistical genetics. Link to apply: recruit.apo.ucla.edu/JPF10275. Please repost!
April 28, 2025 at 4:18 PM
I am recruiting a quantitative/computational postdoc to my group at UCLA. This is a great opportunity to work on foundational theory, methods, and software in statistical genetics. Link to apply: recruit.apo.ucla.edu/JPF10275. Please repost!
Reposted by Kristján Moore (Kris)🔸
Check out our ancient DNA paper on the maritime Punic civilization! 🦴🧬🌊
We find that their Levantine Phoenician cultural ancestors contributed surprisingly little ancestry to Punic sites in the central and western Mediterranean! (1/4)
doi.org/10.1038/s415...
#aDNA #PopGen #Punic #Phoenician
We find that their Levantine Phoenician cultural ancestors contributed surprisingly little ancestry to Punic sites in the central and western Mediterranean! (1/4)
doi.org/10.1038/s415...
#aDNA #PopGen #Punic #Phoenician
April 23, 2025 at 4:22 PM
Check out our ancient DNA paper on the maritime Punic civilization! 🦴🧬🌊
We find that their Levantine Phoenician cultural ancestors contributed surprisingly little ancestry to Punic sites in the central and western Mediterranean! (1/4)
doi.org/10.1038/s415...
#aDNA #PopGen #Punic #Phoenician
We find that their Levantine Phoenician cultural ancestors contributed surprisingly little ancestry to Punic sites in the central and western Mediterranean! (1/4)
doi.org/10.1038/s415...
#aDNA #PopGen #Punic #Phoenician
Reposted by Kristján Moore (Kris)🔸
I have no idea why this is leading on @theguardian.com website
The substance here is
1. Some adults provided written consent for their health data to be shared with researchers for the good of science
2. UK Biobank facilitated this
3. Some researchers are Chinese
The substance here is
1. Some adults provided written consent for their health data to be shared with researchers for the good of science
2. UK Biobank facilitated this
3. Some researchers are Chinese
SCOOP: Researchers from China are to be allowed access to half a million UK GP records despite western intelligence agencies’ fears about the authoritarian regime amassing health data. My latest @theguardian.com investigation.
www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
Revealed: Chinese researchers can access half a million UK GP records
Medical information will be available from UK Biobank, despite western intelligence agencies’ security fears
www.theguardian.com
April 15, 2025 at 3:14 PM
I have no idea why this is leading on @theguardian.com website
The substance here is
1. Some adults provided written consent for their health data to be shared with researchers for the good of science
2. UK Biobank facilitated this
3. Some researchers are Chinese
The substance here is
1. Some adults provided written consent for their health data to be shared with researchers for the good of science
2. UK Biobank facilitated this
3. Some researchers are Chinese
Awesome. I guess obtaining residues for 51 proteins (22 usable for phylogenetics) was important being able to place the sample in a finely resolved proteomic phylogeny: two previous papers (see below) indicate that ~10 protein sequences is insufficient to resolve primates/hominins at species level.
A male Denisovan mandible from Pleistocene Taiwan
Denisovans are an extinct hominin group defined by ancient genomes of Middle to Late Pleistocene fossils from southern Siberia. Although genomic evidence suggests their widespread distribution through...
www.science.org
April 11, 2025 at 11:39 AM
Awesome. I guess obtaining residues for 51 proteins (22 usable for phylogenetics) was important being able to place the sample in a finely resolved proteomic phylogeny: two previous papers (see below) indicate that ~10 protein sequences is insufficient to resolve primates/hominins at species level.