Psychosocial Implications of Living with Familial Risk of a Psychiatric Disorder and Attitudes to Psychiatric Genetic Testing: A Systematic Review of the Literature
Bettina Meiser et al.
This systematic review reveals a strong interest in adult psychiatric genetic testing, with study participants asserting the belief that a genetic explanation will lead to less stigma of mental illness. Future studies should assess the effects of such information on actual behavior and psychological outcomes.

Genome-Wide Meta-Analysis of Problematic Alcohol Use in 435,563 Individuals Yields Insights into Biology and Relationships With Other Traits
Hang Zhou et al. 
In this large proxy-phenotype meta-analysis of problematic alcohol use, novel risk loci and genetic relationships with numerous other traits are identified, including substance use, psychiatric status, risk-taking behavior and cognitive performance.

COVID-19 and the Harsh Reality of Empathy Distribution
Peter Sterling
In this Scientific American piece, empathy is compared to height and other complex traits that are influenced by both genetic and environmental factors. Given the distribution of empathy, the author encourages acceptance and understanding with respect to the variation in public responses to COVID-19 and social distancing measures.

Alzheimer’s Gene Linked to Higher Risk of Severe COVID-19
Jef Akst
APOE ε4, the gene variant that confers a greater risk for the development of Alzheimer’s disease, also has a link to COVID-19, according to a genetic study conducted from UK Biobank data.

Rare Mutations in Autism Genes Tied to Intellectual Disability
Giorgia Guglielmi
Autistic people who have rare mutations in autism genes tend to have lower intelligence quotients (IQs) than those with common mutations, according to a new study published in Journal of Medical Genetics.

Study Identifies Group of Genes with Altered Expression in Autism
EurekAlert
Regardless of the DNA mutations in any autistic individual, a new study points to a common gene expression profile and functional dysregulation. While progress has been hindered by mutational variability, these results may lead to the enhanced genetic diagnosis and treatment of autism spectrum disorder.

Alzheimer’s Gene Contributes to Blood-brain Barrier Breakdown
Sharon Reynolds
While the APOE ε4 allele is known to contribute to the formation of beta-amyloid plaques and tau tangles, a neuroimaging study finds that older adults with one or more APOE ε4 copies had increased breakdown of the blood-brain barrier in areas important for memory and cognition.

Brain Proteins May Mediate Effects of Genetic Variants on Some Neurological Phenotypes
GenomeWeb
While signals from genome-wide association studies are often difficult to interpret, recent research suggests that human proteome data could provide an opportunity to unravel the causal pathways underlying psychiatric and neurological phenotypes, including Alzheimer disease, depression, intelligence, and neuroticism.

New Research Sheds Light on Sex Imbalances in Diseases like Schizophrenia and Lupus
Meghana Keshavan
This STAT article explores the implications of genetic research featured in Nature regarding sex discrepancies observed in lupus, Sjögren’s syndrome, and schizophrenia. The inverse relationship between the occurrence of schizophrenia and autoimmune conditions seems to be exacerbated by copy number variation of C4 among the sexes.