IQ GWAS Sharply Improves Population Prediction

A new GWAS by van den Berg, Malawsky, Huang and colleagues uses imputation of incomplete UK Biobank cognitive tests to produce polygenic scores that correlate much more strongly with population‑average IQ and with GDP/education indicators than prior Pan‑UKBB fluid‑intelligence scores. Combining this GWAS with COGENT raises population correlations to ~0.85, though individual‑level prediction was not tested in the piece. — If polygenic scores for intelligence become substantially more predictive at the population level, they will reshape debates about the use of genetics in education, demography, public policy and claims about group differences.