Selection Raised Cognitive Alleles in Europe

A major ancient‑DNA time‑series (Akbari et al., Nature 2026) finds directional selection in West Eurasian genomes over the last ~10–14k years, showing rises in allele combinations that modern polygenic scores link to cognitive performance alongside declines in alleles linked to body fat and certain psychiatric risks. The study uses 10,000+ newly generated ancient genomes and a method to distinguish sustained allele‑frequency trends from migration or drift. — If robust, this reframes public conversations about recent human evolution, polygenic prediction, and the social interpretation of genetic differences across populations.