Cedric Boeckx
@cedricboeckx.bsky.social
ICREA Research Professor. Evolution, Genetics, Neuroscience, Linguistic Cognition
Pinned
Cedric Boeckx
@cedricboeckx.bsky.social
· Nov 16
![cortical organoid [image credit: O. Leonardi, who is leading this collaborative project]](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:ljcyk7tem65k7epgu5pkwuuh/bafkreico75nbiyo5zg6kzzahk5kxmcpcajygslloxkndmry2tnzr5q72pu@jpeg)
First post on this platform 👋. Glad to reconnect with old friends, and also learn from new contacts. Will post about intersecting themes: human evolution, genetics (esp. aDNA), neuroscience & cognition. Currently focusing on brain organoids and early developmental changes that may have had an impact
Very nice work revealing the importance of social/cultural learning in orangutans 👇 🧪
Our New Paper is out in Nature Human Behaviour: 🚨 Culture is critical in driving orangutan diet development past individual potentials! 🦧 www.nature.com/articles/s41.... See 🧵
Culture is critical in driving orangutan diet development past individual potentials - Nature Human Behaviour
Howard-Spink et al. develop an empirically based model of orangutan diet development, which suggests that social learning is vital for orangutans to acquire varied diets.
www.nature.com
November 24, 2025 at 11:45 AM
Very nice work revealing the importance of social/cultural learning in orangutans 👇 🧪
Reposted by Cedric Boeckx
Such a fantastic resource by @kuhlwilm.bsky.social's lab. We’re using this catalog in half our projects
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
A curated dataset of great ape genome diversity - Scientific Data
Scientific Data - A curated dataset of great ape genome diversity
www.nature.com
November 24, 2025 at 7:12 AM
Such a fantastic resource by @kuhlwilm.bsky.social's lab. We’re using this catalog in half our projects
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Cedric Boeckx
Excellent @science.org review by an outstanding group, including @inbalarnon.bsky.social @profsimonfisher.bsky.social @limorraviv.bsky.social @simonkirby.bsky.social @lirancarmel.bsky.social @kazuookanoya.bsky.social @luciewolters.bsky.social
What enables human language? A biocultural framework
🧪
What enables human language? A biocultural framework
🧪
What enables human language? A biocultural framework
Explaining the origins of language is a key challenge in understanding ourselves as a species. We present an empirical framework that draws on synergies across fields to facilitate robust studies of l...
www.science.org
November 21, 2025 at 8:59 AM
Excellent @science.org review by an outstanding group, including @inbalarnon.bsky.social @profsimonfisher.bsky.social @limorraviv.bsky.social @simonkirby.bsky.social @lirancarmel.bsky.social @kazuookanoya.bsky.social @luciewolters.bsky.social
What enables human language? A biocultural framework
🧪
What enables human language? A biocultural framework
🧪
Reposted by Cedric Boeckx
I wrote a little bit about the "missing heritability" question and several recent studies that have brought it to a close. A short 🧵
The missing heritability question is now (mostly) answered
Not with a bang but with a whimper
theinfinitesimal.substack.com
November 21, 2025 at 10:34 PM
I wrote a little bit about the "missing heritability" question and several recent studies that have brought it to a close. A short 🧵
Excellent @science.org review by an outstanding group, including @inbalarnon.bsky.social @profsimonfisher.bsky.social @limorraviv.bsky.social @simonkirby.bsky.social @lirancarmel.bsky.social @kazuookanoya.bsky.social @luciewolters.bsky.social
What enables human language? A biocultural framework
🧪
What enables human language? A biocultural framework
🧪
What enables human language? A biocultural framework
Explaining the origins of language is a key challenge in understanding ourselves as a species. We present an empirical framework that draws on synergies across fields to facilitate robust studies of l...
www.science.org
November 21, 2025 at 8:59 AM
Excellent @science.org review by an outstanding group, including @inbalarnon.bsky.social @profsimonfisher.bsky.social @limorraviv.bsky.social @simonkirby.bsky.social @lirancarmel.bsky.social @kazuookanoya.bsky.social @luciewolters.bsky.social
What enables human language? A biocultural framework
🧪
What enables human language? A biocultural framework
🧪
Reposted by Cedric Boeckx
Very pleased to share our latest paper published in Cell:
BRAIN-MAGNET: A functional genomics atlas for interpretation of non-coding variants: Cell www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...
@cellpress.bsky.social, @cp-cell.bsky.social, @ruizhideng.bsky.social #enhancer
here is a thread about our findings:
BRAIN-MAGNET: A functional genomics atlas for interpretation of non-coding variants: Cell www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...
@cellpress.bsky.social, @cp-cell.bsky.social, @ruizhideng.bsky.social #enhancer
here is a thread about our findings:
BRAIN-MAGNET: A functional genomics atlas for interpretation of non-coding variants
BRAIN-MAGNET, a convolutional neural network trained on 148,198 functionally tested
non-coding regulatory elements, predicts enhancer activity directly from DNA sequence
and identifies nucleotides ess...
www.cell.com
November 20, 2025 at 9:38 AM
Very pleased to share our latest paper published in Cell:
BRAIN-MAGNET: A functional genomics atlas for interpretation of non-coding variants: Cell www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...
@cellpress.bsky.social, @cp-cell.bsky.social, @ruizhideng.bsky.social #enhancer
here is a thread about our findings:
BRAIN-MAGNET: A functional genomics atlas for interpretation of non-coding variants: Cell www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...
@cellpress.bsky.social, @cp-cell.bsky.social, @ruizhideng.bsky.social #enhancer
here is a thread about our findings:
Fascinating longitudinal study in @currentbiology.bsky.social by @alicebaniel.bsky.social @jbeehner.bsky.social and colleagues, providing evidence for deceptive fertility in a wild primate (gelada) 🧪
www.cell.com/current-biol...
www.cell.com/current-biol...
Evidence for deceptive fertility in a wild primate
Baniel et al. show that female geladas deceptively signal fertility when a new dominant
male arrives. Across 14 years of data, lactating females displayed fertility signals
and mated without conceivin...
www.cell.com
November 19, 2025 at 6:54 PM
Fascinating longitudinal study in @currentbiology.bsky.social by @alicebaniel.bsky.social @jbeehner.bsky.social and colleagues, providing evidence for deceptive fertility in a wild primate (gelada) 🧪
www.cell.com/current-biol...
www.cell.com/current-biol...
Reposted by Cedric Boeckx
@hakha.bsky.social and I wrote a Research Briefing (with a lay summary + "behind the scenes") of our paper on how genes are prioritized by GWAS and rare variant burden tests. 🧬🧪
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
How do genetic association studies rank genes?
Genome-wide association studies and rare-variant burden tests reveal complementary aspects of trait biology.
www.nature.com
November 19, 2025 at 6:43 PM
@hakha.bsky.social and I wrote a Research Briefing (with a lay summary + "behind the scenes") of our paper on how genes are prioritized by GWAS and rare variant burden tests. 🧬🧪
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Great @currentbiology.bsky.social study by @xmikezheng20.bsky.social @cliffscience.bsky.social @arkarupbanerjee.bsky.social 🧪🧠🐭🎶
Vocal repertoire expansion in singing mice by co-opting a conserved midbrain circuit node
www.cell.com/current-biol...
Vocal repertoire expansion in singing mice by co-opting a conserved midbrain circuit node
www.cell.com/current-biol...
Vocal repertoire expansion in singing mice by co-opting a conserved midbrain circuit node
Zheng and Harpole et al. show that singing mice produce two major vocal modes: ancestral
USVs and novel songs that follow a linearly decelerating rhythm. Although acoustically
distinct, songs and USVs...
www.cell.com
November 19, 2025 at 5:22 PM
Great @currentbiology.bsky.social study by @xmikezheng20.bsky.social @cliffscience.bsky.social @arkarupbanerjee.bsky.social 🧪🧠🐭🎶
Vocal repertoire expansion in singing mice by co-opting a conserved midbrain circuit node
www.cell.com/current-biol...
Vocal repertoire expansion in singing mice by co-opting a conserved midbrain circuit node
www.cell.com/current-biol...
Reposted by Cedric Boeckx
Paper out now: A curated dataset of the great ape genome diversity!
rdcu.be/eQLCi
rdcu.be/eQLCi
A curated dataset of great ape genome diversity
Scientific Data - A curated dataset of great ape genome diversity
rdcu.be
November 19, 2025 at 2:27 PM
Paper out now: A curated dataset of the great ape genome diversity!
rdcu.be/eQLCi
rdcu.be/eQLCi
Reposted by Cedric Boeckx
The 2026 EMBL symposium 'Reconstructing the human past using ancient and modern genomics' is live with a fantastic invited speaker lineup!
Abstract deadline 9 June. If work is ongoing, plan for Heidelberg in September😉.
Organised by Maanasa Raghavan, @matejahajdi.bsky.social, Choongwon Jeong & me.
Abstract deadline 9 June. If work is ongoing, plan for Heidelberg in September😉.
Organised by Maanasa Raghavan, @matejahajdi.bsky.social, Choongwon Jeong & me.
November 19, 2025 at 1:41 PM
The 2026 EMBL symposium 'Reconstructing the human past using ancient and modern genomics' is live with a fantastic invited speaker lineup!
Abstract deadline 9 June. If work is ongoing, plan for Heidelberg in September😉.
Organised by Maanasa Raghavan, @matejahajdi.bsky.social, Choongwon Jeong & me.
Abstract deadline 9 June. If work is ongoing, plan for Heidelberg in September😉.
Organised by Maanasa Raghavan, @matejahajdi.bsky.social, Choongwon Jeong & me.
Reposted by Cedric Boeckx
New preprint on bioRvix! We show how cortical sensory-modality identity is instructed by a combinatorial cell-adhesion and activity codes, using #snRNAseq #spatialtranscriptomics #functional imaging. Congrats to everyone on this work! @guillelbendito.bsky.social @neuroalc.bsky.social
Combinatorial Cell-Adhesion and Activity Codes Instruct Cortical Modality Identity
The emergence of functional sensory modalities requires precise cortical arealization and thalamocortical connectivity. While early morphogen gradients broadly initiate cortical patterning, how sensor...
www.biorxiv.org
November 18, 2025 at 7:26 AM
New preprint on bioRvix! We show how cortical sensory-modality identity is instructed by a combinatorial cell-adhesion and activity codes, using #snRNAseq #spatialtranscriptomics #functional imaging. Congrats to everyone on this work! @guillelbendito.bsky.social @neuroalc.bsky.social
Journal editor encouraged me to review for them by saying I’d gain “early access to cutting-edge research in your field”. I told them not to worry about that, I’m a @biorxivpreprint.bsky.social affiliate. Told them to encourage authors to #preprint, so _everyone_ can gain early access to the work 🧪
November 17, 2025 at 11:49 AM
Journal editor encouraged me to review for them by saying I’d gain “early access to cutting-edge research in your field”. I told them not to worry about that, I’m a @biorxivpreprint.bsky.social affiliate. Told them to encourage authors to #preprint, so _everyone_ can gain early access to the work 🧪
“substantial phenotypic diversity already existed in early Holocene dogs” nice #domestixation study by @gregerlarson.bsky.social & collaborators in @science.org 🧪🐶🐾
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
The emergence and diversification of dog morphology
Dogs exhibit an exceptional range of morphological diversity as a result of their long-term association with humans. Attempts to identify when dog morphological variation began to expand have been con...
www.science.org
November 14, 2025 at 12:32 PM
“substantial phenotypic diversity already existed in early Holocene dogs” nice #domestixation study by @gregerlarson.bsky.social & collaborators in @science.org 🧪🐶🐾
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Reposted by Cedric Boeckx
Happy to share our review "Investigating hierarchical critical periods in human neurodevelopment” in @npp-journal.bsky.social! We examine neurobiological, environmental & behavioral evidence for human critical periods in sensory and association cortex +discuss new research directions rdcu.be/eMkVU 🧵
November 11, 2025 at 8:01 PM
Happy to share our review "Investigating hierarchical critical periods in human neurodevelopment” in @npp-journal.bsky.social! We examine neurobiological, environmental & behavioral evidence for human critical periods in sensory and association cortex +discuss new research directions rdcu.be/eMkVU 🧵
Reposted by Cedric Boeckx
Which human brain circuits are implicated in neurodevelopmental conditions? We bridged human genetics, spatial transcriptomics and neurodevelopment to discover the convergence of autism-associated genes in the developing human thalamus! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
November 11, 2025 at 10:55 AM
Which human brain circuits are implicated in neurodevelopmental conditions? We bridged human genetics, spatial transcriptomics and neurodevelopment to discover the convergence of autism-associated genes in the developing human thalamus! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Always happy to see researchers like A. Leblois, going beyond the classical birdsong circuit & looking at the #cerebellum to give it its due: “A lobule-specific neuronal representation of song temporal structure in the songbird cerebellum” 🧪🐦🎵🧠
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
A lobule-specific neuronal representation of song temporal structure in the songbird cerebellum
The cerebellum is involved in the acquisition and production of speech as revealed by clinical evidence and imaging studies, but its specific role however remains unclear. Songbirds provide a unique m...
www.biorxiv.org
November 11, 2025 at 1:08 PM
Always happy to see researchers like A. Leblois, going beyond the classical birdsong circuit & looking at the #cerebellum to give it its due: “A lobule-specific neuronal representation of song temporal structure in the songbird cerebellum” 🧪🐦🎵🧠
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
New preprint by Hannah Munby and @mollyprz.bsky.social:
“Revisiting the evidence for long-lived balancing selection in humans” 🧪🧬
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
“Revisiting the evidence for long-lived balancing selection in humans” 🧪🧬
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Revisiting the evidence for long-lived balancing selection in humans.
Balancing selection maintains variation in a population longer than expected under neutrality. In humans, there are dozens of tentative candidate loci for balancing selection, but only a handful of we...
www.biorxiv.org
November 11, 2025 at 1:06 PM
New preprint by Hannah Munby and @mollyprz.bsky.social:
“Revisiting the evidence for long-lived balancing selection in humans” 🧪🧬
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
“Revisiting the evidence for long-lived balancing selection in humans” 🧪🧬
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Very nice study by @hannahlong.bsky.social in @dev-journal.bsky.social testing the impact of a Neanderthal-derived variant on the activity of an enhancer regulating aspects of jaw development 🧪🧬
journals.biologists.com/dev/article/...
journals.biologists.com/dev/article/...
November 10, 2025 at 11:32 AM
Very nice study by @hannahlong.bsky.social in @dev-journal.bsky.social testing the impact of a Neanderthal-derived variant on the activity of an enhancer regulating aspects of jaw development 🧪🧬
journals.biologists.com/dev/article/...
journals.biologists.com/dev/article/...
Reposted by Cedric Boeckx
Our new manuscript, led by Emily Corrigan, examines inhibitory neuron diversity across approximately 160 million years of evolutionary divergence, as part of BRAIN Initiative Cell Atlas Network (BICAN) developing brain atlas package: www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Conservation and alteration of mammalian striatal interneurons - Nature
An analysis of cell-type diversity in brain samples from a variety of mammalian species, both during development and in adult animals, reveals that the TAC3 initial class of striatal interneurons is c...
www.nature.com
November 7, 2025 at 6:06 PM
Our new manuscript, led by Emily Corrigan, examines inhibitory neuron diversity across approximately 160 million years of evolutionary divergence, as part of BRAIN Initiative Cell Atlas Network (BICAN) developing brain atlas package: www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Cedric Boeckx
Our findings show that lactase persistence evolved not through a single story of selection, but as a mosaic shaped by diverse demographic and cultural histories, each leaving a distinct mark on the genome.
We thank our collaborators and welcome any feedback!
We thank our collaborators and welcome any feedback!
November 7, 2025 at 2:33 PM
Our findings show that lactase persistence evolved not through a single story of selection, but as a mosaic shaped by diverse demographic and cultural histories, each leaving a distinct mark on the genome.
We thank our collaborators and welcome any feedback!
We thank our collaborators and welcome any feedback!
Reposted by Cedric Boeckx
Just published! Pasca & Greely (1st, last, & corresponding authors) The Need for a Global Effort To Attend To Human Neural Organoid & Assembloid Research, SCIENCE 390(6773):574-577 (Nov. 6, 2025)
We think it's a big deal!
Other authors on next post-too many to fit.
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
We think it's a big deal!
Other authors on next post-too many to fit.
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
The need for a global effort to attend to human neural organoid and assembloid research
A continuing international process is needed to monitor and advise this rapidly progressing field
www.science.org
November 6, 2025 at 10:36 PM
Just published! Pasca & Greely (1st, last, & corresponding authors) The Need for a Global Effort To Attend To Human Neural Organoid & Assembloid Research, SCIENCE 390(6773):574-577 (Nov. 6, 2025)
We think it's a big deal!
Other authors on next post-too many to fit.
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
We think it's a big deal!
Other authors on next post-too many to fit.
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Huge thanks to @drelenamiu.bsky.social @felixthehauskat.bsky.social @sheinalew.bsky.social @ndersen.bsky.social for organizing an excellent & true _work_-shop @aiasdk.bsky.social. I go back with a long reading list, tons of notes & food for thought re: extended childhood, innovation & evolution 🙏
First time in Aarhus. Grateful to @felixthehauskat.bsky.social @drelenamiu.bsky.social for inviting me to a great workshop on ontogeny, phylogeny, innovation & adaptation, seeking to understand what makes human childhood special @aiasdk.bsky.social @au.dk
November 7, 2025 at 7:59 AM
Huge thanks to @drelenamiu.bsky.social @felixthehauskat.bsky.social @sheinalew.bsky.social @ndersen.bsky.social for organizing an excellent & true _work_-shop @aiasdk.bsky.social. I go back with a long reading list, tons of notes & food for thought re: extended childhood, innovation & evolution 🙏
Outstanding work by @jeffspence.github.io @hakha.bsky.social
@jkpritch.bsky.social & colleagues
“Specificity, length and luck drive gene rankings in association studies”, out in @nature.com
🧪🧬
👇
@jkpritch.bsky.social & colleagues
“Specificity, length and luck drive gene rankings in association studies”, out in @nature.com
🧪🧬
👇
How do GWAS and rare variant burden tests rank gene signals?
In new work @nature.com with @hakha.bsky.social, @jkpritch.bsky.social, and our wonderful coauthors we find that the key factors are what we call Specificity, Length, and Luck!
🧬🧪🧵
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
In new work @nature.com with @hakha.bsky.social, @jkpritch.bsky.social, and our wonderful coauthors we find that the key factors are what we call Specificity, Length, and Luck!
🧬🧪🧵
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Specificity, length and luck drive gene rankings in association studies - Nature
Genetic association tests prioritize candidate genes based on different criteria.
www.nature.com
November 7, 2025 at 6:59 AM
Outstanding work by @jeffspence.github.io @hakha.bsky.social
@jkpritch.bsky.social & colleagues
“Specificity, length and luck drive gene rankings in association studies”, out in @nature.com
🧪🧬
👇
@jkpritch.bsky.social & colleagues
“Specificity, length and luck drive gene rankings in association studies”, out in @nature.com
🧪🧬
👇
Reposted by Cedric Boeckx
How do GWAS and rare variant burden tests rank gene signals?
In new work @nature.com with @hakha.bsky.social, @jkpritch.bsky.social, and our wonderful coauthors we find that the key factors are what we call Specificity, Length, and Luck!
🧬🧪🧵
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
In new work @nature.com with @hakha.bsky.social, @jkpritch.bsky.social, and our wonderful coauthors we find that the key factors are what we call Specificity, Length, and Luck!
🧬🧪🧵
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Specificity, length and luck drive gene rankings in association studies - Nature
Genetic association tests prioritize candidate genes based on different criteria.
www.nature.com
November 7, 2025 at 12:05 AM
How do GWAS and rare variant burden tests rank gene signals?
In new work @nature.com with @hakha.bsky.social, @jkpritch.bsky.social, and our wonderful coauthors we find that the key factors are what we call Specificity, Length, and Luck!
🧬🧪🧵
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
In new work @nature.com with @hakha.bsky.social, @jkpritch.bsky.social, and our wonderful coauthors we find that the key factors are what we call Specificity, Length, and Luck!
🧬🧪🧵
www.nature.com/articles/s41...