diff --git a/_news/20230828-papers.md b/_news/20230828-papers.md new file mode 100644 index 000000000..9f7428695 --- /dev/null +++ b/_news/20230828-papers.md @@ -0,0 +1,46 @@ +--- +layout: news +title: New tskit-related papers +description: | + A trio of papers in the prestigious journals Nature, Science, and Nature Genetics + illustrate the power of tskit-based simulation and analysis to carry out + genome-wide analysis of human genome data. These focus on deep human ancestry, + recent human pedigrees, and statistical algorithms for biobank-scale datasets. +image: ../assets/images/news/20230828-papers/quebec-thin.jpg +timestamp: 2023-08-28 +author: Yan Wong +--- + +# A trio of high-impact papers + +In May and August 2023 the following papers, which make extensive use of tskit projects, were published: + +#### A weakly structured stem for human origins in Africa – [Nature](https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-023-06055-y){:class="link--type-1--external"} +{: style="clear:both"} + +![Figure 3b: demographic plot of a weak stem with multiple mergers]({{ '/assets/images/news/20230828-papers/human-stem.jpg' | relative_url}}){:class="news-float-left" style="width: 12em;"} + +A paper by [@apragsdale](https://github.com/apragsdale) and colleagues, who contribute to +[msprime](https://tskit.dev/software/msprime.html) software development, uses msprime simulations +(among other techniques) to argue for a complex history of structured subpopulations in deep human +history. + +#### On the genes, genealogies, and geographies of Quebec – [Science](https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.add5300){:class="link--type-1--external"} +{: style="clear:both"} + +![Figure 1b: Visualizing the ancestry of French Canadians across regions (x axis) over time]({{ '/assets/images/news/20230828-papers/quebec.jpg' | relative_url}}){:class="news-float-left" style="width: 12em;"} + +This paper uses the recently implemented feature in [msprime](https://tskit.dev/software/msprime.html) +to [simulate genetic transmission through a known pedigree](https://tskit.dev/msprime/docs/stable/ancestry.html#sec-ancestry-models-fixed-pedigree). +In this case, a human pedigree based on 4 million Canadian genealogical records was used. +Results highlight the multiple impacts of geography on human migration, and a freely available +simulated whole-genome dataset of almost 1.5 million individuals is provided. + + +#### Extremely sparse models of linkage disequilibrium in ancestrally diverse association studies – [Nature Genetics](https://www.nature.com/articles/s41588-023-01487-8){:class="link--type-1--external"} +{: style="clear:both"} + +![Figure 2a: Accuracy and sparsity of the LDGM precision matrix]({{ '/assets/images/news/20230828-papers/LD.jpg' | relative_url}}){:class="news-float-left" style="width: 12em;"} + +This paper shows how common statistical genetic algorithms, for example used in GWAS studies, can be both sped up +and made more accurate by leveraging genetic genealogies inferred from real data by [tsinfer](https://tskit.dev/tsinfer/docs/stable/). diff --git a/assets/images/news/20230828-papers/LD.jpg b/assets/images/news/20230828-papers/LD.jpg new file mode 100644 index 000000000..dd61a2eeb Binary files /dev/null and b/assets/images/news/20230828-papers/LD.jpg differ diff --git a/assets/images/news/20230828-papers/human-stem.jpg b/assets/images/news/20230828-papers/human-stem.jpg new file mode 100644 index 000000000..34f11b539 Binary files /dev/null and b/assets/images/news/20230828-papers/human-stem.jpg differ diff --git a/assets/images/news/20230828-papers/quebec-thin.jpg b/assets/images/news/20230828-papers/quebec-thin.jpg new file mode 100644 index 000000000..7e0d1b0d1 Binary files /dev/null and b/assets/images/news/20230828-papers/quebec-thin.jpg differ diff --git a/assets/images/news/20230828-papers/quebec.jpg b/assets/images/news/20230828-papers/quebec.jpg new file mode 100644 index 000000000..32fa08f0c Binary files /dev/null and b/assets/images/news/20230828-papers/quebec.jpg differ