2017 ISIR Prize for Best Student Paper: Emily Willoughby
Emily Willoughby, awardee of the Best Student Presentation award, ISIR, Montreal 2017.
Biosketch: Emily grew up in the mountains of western North Carolina, acquired her B.A. in biology from New Jersey’s Thomas Edison University, and began working toward her Ph.D. in personality, individual differences & behavior genetics at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities in 2016. Following several years working as a scientific illustrator and co-authoring a book on the United States’ evolution/creationism controversy, she returned to NC for a year of post-baccalaureate ...
Talking about cognitive ability in 2017
2017 has already seen more science-lead findings on cognitive ability, and public discussion about the origins, and social and moral implications of ability, than we have had in some time, which should be good news for those seeking to understand and grow cognitive ability. This post brings together some of these events linking talk about differences in reasoning that are so near to our sense of autonomy and identity.
Middlebury
Twenty years ago, when Dr Charles Murray co-authored a book with Harvard Psychologist Richard Herrnstein he opened up a conversation ...
Nature editorial: A positive inflection for research into ability
As GWAS results confirm links between cognitive ability and outcomes diverse as increased lifespan, better SES and education outcomes, and protection from mental illness, information on the genetics of cognitive ability itself has taken a quantum leap, Nature have posted an editorial framing these results against wide-spread misconceptions about human intelligence.
The editorial argues that these large molecular-based studies of human ability are themselves the best antidote to what the editor identifies as cognitive ability research's three worst enemies:
First...
Global collaboration on GWAS yields 336 genetic effects linked to Cognitive Ability!
In the search to increase important economic and health-related life benefits linked to cognitive abilities, and knowing that many of these benefits are linked to the combined action of thousands of very, very small genetic effects, researchers have recognized that they need to pull together massive samples to make progress.
That recognition has begun to bear fruit, with multiple new genes influencing cognitive ability being reported, for instance, from UK Biobank.
Now, combining DNA and cognitive data from almost 80,000 individuals has yielded over 300 individ...
National Geographic piece on Genius covers work of ISIR members, including Rex Jung and Robert Plomin
In a long and detailed illustrated essay, National Geographic cover a diverse range of work on a subject of interest to all followers to ISIR: Genius. (to accompany their new series on Einstein).
Lots to surprise readers: Did you know there's a hunt to find Leonardo’s DNA?
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2017/05/genius-genetics-intelligence-neuroscience-creativity-einstein
