This study examines how APOE isoforms affect biological outcomes in industrialized and non-industrial environments, finding lifestyle-dependent effects and weak reproductive benefits for APOE ε4.

PLoS Genetics · Sep 8, 2026Peer-reviewedEvolutionary Biology

Evaluating performance bias in face-to-BMI vision transformer models across diverse human populations

J C Hoffman, Michael Gurven, Hillard S Kaplan, Jonathan Stieglitz, Benjamin C. Trumble, Bret Beheim, Paul L. Hooper, Richard B. Lee, Julia R. Phelps, Kim Hill, Brian F. Codding, Simon Brewer, Yvonne Ai Lian Lim, Amanda J. Lea, Ian J. Wallace, , Thomas S. Kraft

This study evaluates how face-to-BMI Vision Transformer models perform across diverse human populations, finding that training on population-specific data improves accuracy, while global training data enhances performance in underrepresented groups.

bioRxiv · Sep 4, 2026 · PreprintBioinformatics

Recent lifestyle change impacts sleep and circadian rhythms among the Indigenous peoples of Peninsular Malaysia

Kathleen D. Reinhardt, Thomas S. Kraft, Amanda J. Lea, Ian J. Wallace, Yvonne Ai Lian Lim, Colin Nicholas, Tan Bee Ting A P Tan Boon Huat, Kar Lye Tam, Steven K. W. Chow, Izandis bin Mohd Sayed, Kamal Solhaimi Fadzil, Michael C. Antle, Vivek Vasi Venkataraman

This study examines how lifestyle changes in Indigenous Orang Asli communities in Malaysia affect sleep patterns and circadian rhythms, finding delayed timing and shorter duration with improved quality.

Proceedings of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences · Aug 5, 2026Peer-reviewedPhysiology

Early and current environments exert distinct effects on immune function in the Orang Asli

Layla Brassington, Audrey M. Arner, Grace Rodenberg, Nicholas Ryan, Diane Song, Tan Bee Ting A P Tan Boon Huat, Virginia B. Kraus, Janet L. Huebner, Izandis bin Mohd Sayed, Yvonne AL Lim, Vivek V. Venkataraman, Ian J. Wallace, Thomas S. Kraft, Amanda J. Lea

The paper examines how early-life and current environments affect immune function in the Orang Asli, finding current lifestyle has stronger effects on immune gene expression than early-life conditions.

bioRxiv · Jul 30, 2026 · PreprintGenetics

Development and assessment of tailored illustrations to enhance community understandings of genetics topics

Audrey M. Arner, Tobias C. McCabe, Amanda Seyler, Siti Nurani Zamri, Tan Bee Ting A P Tan Boon Huat, Kar Lye Tam, Patriciah Kinyua, Echwa John, Sospeter Ngoci Njeru, Yvonne AL Lim, Michael Gurven, Colin Nicholas, Julien F. Ayroles, Vivek Vasi Venkataraman, Thomas S. Kraft, , Amanda J. Lea

The paper develops and evaluates tailored illustrations to improve community understanding of genetics concepts through iterative feedback and analysis of engagement patterns.

American Journal of Biological Anthropology · Jul 1, 2026Peer-reviewedScientific Communication & Education

Early life environments shape adult cardiometabolic health during rapid lifestyle change

Rachel M. Petersen, Robert L. Tennyson, Tan Bee Ting A P Tan Boon Huat, Kar Lye Tam, Marina M. Watowich, Izandis bin Mohd Sayed, Colin Nicholas, Kamal Solhaimi Fadzil, Kee Seong Ng, Yvonne Ai Lian Lim, Vivek Vasi Venkataraman, Ian J. Wallace, Thomas S. Kraft, Amanda J. Lea

The paper examines how early life environments affect adult cardiometabolic health in the Orang Asli, finding support for developmental constraints over predictive adaptive responses.

Proceedings of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences · Apr 22, 2026Peer-reviewedEvolutionary Biology

Cost-effective solutions for high-throughput enzymatic DNA methylation sequencing

Amy Longtin, Marina M. Watowich, Baptiste Sadoughi, Rachel M. Petersen, Sarah Frances Brosnan, Kenneth H. Buetow, Qiuyin Cai, Michael Gurven, James P. Higham, Heather M. Highland, Yi-Ting Huang, Hillard S Kaplan, Thomas S. Kraft, Yvonne Ai Lian Lim, Jirong Long, , Amanda J. Lea

The paper optimizes a reduced representation DNA methylation sequencing protocol for cost-effective, population-scale studies across species.

PLoS Genetics · May 22, 2025Peer-reviewedGenomics