Exploratory genetics study finds candidates—and a much larger replication job

A peer-reviewed exploratory study in Explore analyzed direct-to-consumer microarray data from 102 English-speaking adults who reported at least one psychic experience. A random-forest analysis comparing higher and lower self-report scores identified 212 single-nucleotide polymorphisms after the authors' statistical correction, including candidates connected with calcium signaling, brain structure, microtubules, estrogen pathways, and retinoic-acid signaling.

The sample was small, self-selected, predominantly educated white American women, and contained no comparison group drawn from people reporting no psychic experience. The study measured associations with questionnaire scores, not verified psychic performance or a causal mechanism; a flexible machine-learning analysis can also find patterns that fail outside the training population. The authors call the work preliminary and say larger, more diverse cohorts and refined methods are necessary.

Why it matters

The paper is useful high-strangeness research precisely because its provocative result comes with clear limits and a testable next step: preregistered replication in broader samples with objective outcome measures.

What the source establishes

Peer-reviewed exploratory association: candidate variants were reported in this dataset. Not established: psychic ability, genetic causation, prediction in new participants, or a paranormal biological mechanism.