Round-up: Genetic changes at the dawn of agriculture

The most interesting articles that came to our attention this week

Examining the effects of birth order on personality. Julia Rohrer and colleagues examine the effect of birth order on intelligence and personality in three large datasets. Comparing siblings both within and between families, they replicate the previously documented negative effect of birth order on intelligence (whereby later-born children have lower intelligence). Yet they consistently find no effect of birth order on any personality trait.

Is the US Losing the World to China? Noah Carl reports on two recent surveys which found that global public opinion is turning against the US and in favour of China. The Democracy Perception Index found that since 2023, the US has become one of the world’s least popular countries, just ahead of Russia. Meanwhile, the Spring Global Attitudes Survey found that among people living in ten high-income countries, China is about as popular as the US.