qqman
The Manhattan-plot package for GWAS results, finished and dormant since 2017.
Comparison · Analytics
austraits vs RadialMR
A side-by-side editorial comparison of austraits and RadialMR — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
austraits vs RadialMR: at a glance
What is austraits?
The R client for AusTraits spends its releases chasing the dataset it reads.
austraits is the R access layer for the AusTraits plant trait database, and its release history is almost entirely a record of keeping pace with two upstream systems it does not control: the austraits.build data releases and the Zenodo archive that hosts them. The most recent release adds a version-dispatch layer so the same package can read both v4.x and v5.0.0 data. Three of the four visible tags were backfilled to GitHub within 23 minutes of each other, so version order and publication order do not agree.
What is RadialMR?
RadialMR's 2026 release corrects degrees of freedom that had been wrong since documentation.
RadialMR implements radial-plot formulations of IVW and MR-Egger Mendelian randomization, with outlier detection and interactive plotting. The recent history is thin on features and increasingly focused on the arithmetic: 1.2.4 in July 2026 fixes the degrees of freedom returned by egger_radial() to the documented n-2, corrects the heterogeneity p-value that inherited the same error, and repairs a negated lower bound in the random-effects bootstrap standard error search interval in ivw_radial().
austraits vs RadialMR: editorial side-by-side
austraits
0.0ANALYTICS
The R client for AusTraits spends its releases chasing the dataset it reads.
◆ Current state
austraits is the R access layer for the AusTraits plant trait database, and its release history is almost entirely a record of keeping pace with two upstream systems it does not control: the austraits.build data releases and the Zenodo archive that hosts them. The most recent release adds a version-dispatch layer so the same package can read both v4.x and v5.0.0 data. Three of the four visible tags were backfilled to GitHub within 23 minutes of each other, so version order and publication order do not agree.
◆ Where it's heading
The package is converging on a stable public vocabulary and a versioned internal. Sites became locations across every join, plot and extract function; the extract_ and print family filled out at 1.0.0; and by 2.2.2 the core functions each carry a switch on the detected data version rather than assuming one schema. The visible cost of that is dependency churn — plotting packages moved to Suggests, which the notes admit can leave core functions unable to run.
◆ Prediction
Given that every release so far has been triggered by an upstream austraits.build or Zenodo change, the next one most likely follows the next data release rather than any independent roadmap. The entries do not indicate new analysis capability being planned in the client itself.
RadialMR
0.0ANALYTICS
RadialMR's 2026 release corrects degrees of freedom that had been wrong since documentation.
◆ Current state
RadialMR implements radial-plot formulations of IVW and MR-Egger Mendelian randomization, with outlier detection and interactive plotting. The recent history is thin on features and increasingly focused on the arithmetic: 1.2.4 in July 2026 fixes the degrees of freedom returned by egger_radial() to the documented n-2, corrects the heterogeneity p-value that inherited the same error, and repairs a negated lower bound in the random-effects bootstrap standard error search interval in ivw_radial().
◆ Where it's heading
This is a package being read closely by its maintainer rather than extended. The 1.2.x line pairs statistical corrections with defensive hardening — an rmr_format class check so unformatted input fails with a clear message, and plotly_radial() dispatching on object class instead of counting list elements. Both are the kind of change made while auditing, not while building.
◆ Prediction
Expect the audit to continue into the remaining estimator internals and print methods rather than new radial variants; the entries show no feature work queued.
Alternatives to austraits and RadialMR
Other Analytics products tracked by Sparkpulse, ranked by recent ship velocity. Each card links to a full editorial trajectory and lets you pivot into a head-to-head comparison with either austraits or RadialMR.
constants
The R package for CODATA constants rebuilt its symbol table on NIST's naming so future updates stop being hand work.
ggdemetra
A ggplot2 layer for seasonal adjustment output, filling in one plot type at a time.
fossilsim
A fossil-record simulator that quietly grew a trait-evolution engine.
tern.rbmi
Reference-based multiple imputation tables, shipping only what CRAN checks demand.
tern.mmrm
An MMRM tabulation package that has published nothing since its 2024 CRAN releases.
See all austraits alternatives → · See all RadialMR alternatives →
Recent activity from austraits and RadialMR
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 1mo agoRadialMRegger_radial() degrees of freedom corrected to n-2
- 3mo agoRadialMRroxygen2 bumped; package-level helpfile added
- 4mo agoRadialMRUnspecified codebase optimizations
- 1y agoRadialMRggplot2 v4 warning removed from plot_radial()
- 2y agoaustraitsSupport for AusTraits 5.0.0 data and the rebuilt Zenodo API
- 3y agoaustraitsextract_taxa, lookup_trait and print methods arrive
- 3y agoaustraitsVignette build and extract_ function polish
- 3y agoaustraitssite becomes location across the API; AusTraits 3.0.2+ support
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between austraits and RadialMR?
They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. austraits and RadialMR are shipping at a similar cadence (velocity 0.0 vs 0.0, both within Sparkpulse's "active" band). See the at-a-glance table above for a side-by-side breakdown of velocity, recent sparks, and editorial themes.
Is austraits better than RadialMR?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. austraits and RadialMR are shipping at a similar cadence (velocity 0.0 vs 0.0, both within Sparkpulse's "active" band). For your specific use case, the alternatives sections above list other Analytics products to evaluate alongside.
What are the best alternatives to austraits?
Top austraits alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "austraits alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/austraits-r for the full list with editorial commentary on each.
What are the best alternatives to RadialMR?
Top RadialMR alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "RadialMR alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/radialmr for the full list with editorial commentary on each.