Can childhood interventions reduce antisocial behaviour?

The most interesting articles that came to our attention this week

Enrichment of a subset of Neanderthal polymorphisms in autistic probands and siblings. Rini Pauly and colleagues examine the contribution of Neanderthal admixture to autism susceptibility in Americans. They identify a number of Neanderthal-derived SNPs that are overrepresented in autistic people as compared to race-matched controls. This suggests that Neanderthal admixture plays a significant role in autism susceptibility.

Geographic variation in the polygenic score of height in Japan. Mariko Isshiki and colleagues examine variation in the polygenic score for height across 47 Japanese prefectures. They find that the average polygenic score for height is significantly correlated with the average height for males and females obtained from an independent dataset. These correlations persisted when correcting for population stratification between Okinawa and the mainland.

Maps showing the average polygenic score for height (left) and average height among females (right).