Genome–nuclear lamina interactions: from cell populations to single cells

Lamina-associated domains (LADs) are large genomic regions that interact with the nuclear lamina (NL) and help to guide the spatial folding of chromosomes in the interphase nucleus. LADs have been linked to gene repression and other functions. Recent studies have begun to uncover some of the molecular players that drive LAD–NL interactions. A picture emerges in which DNA sequence, chromatin components and nuclear lamina proteins play an important role. Complementary to this, imaging and single-cell genomics approaches have revealed that some LAD–NL interactions are variable from cell to cell, while others are very stable. Understanding LADs can provide a unique perspective into the general process of genome organization

High-throughput assessment of context-dependent effects of chromatin proteins

Background: Chromatin proteins control gene activity in a concerted manner. We developed a high-throughput assay to study the effects of the local chromatin environment on the regulatory activity of a protein of interest. The assay combines a previously reported multiplexing strategy based on barcoded randomly integrated reporters with Gal4-mediated tethering. We applied the assay to Drosophila heterochromatin protein 1a (HP1a), which is mo

Knightly heroes in the later Middle Ages

Review of Elizabeth Morrison, ed., A knight for the ages. Jacques de Lalaing and the art of chivalry (Los Angeles: The J. Paul Getty Museum, 2018, 192 p., ill., index); and Gero Schreier, Ritterhelden. Rittertum, Autonomie und Fürstendienst in niederadligen Lebenszeugnissen des 14. bis 16. Jahrhunderts, Mittelalter-Forschungen, LVIII (Ostfildern: Jan Thorbecke Verlag, 2019, 393 p., index)

Chapter Measuring urban inequalities. Spatial patterns of service access in sixteenth-century Leiden

This contribution develops a broader understanding of well-being in premodern towns and by using digital methods to map social and economic inequalities, thereby drawing on insights from research on socio-spatial equity from urban studies. The key questions are how socio-economic inequality was reflected in the urban social topography and to what extent these spatial patterns reproduced inequality. Taking sixteenth-century Leiden as a case study, the spatial patterns of economic inequality and social segregation in this town are first examined. Next, the level of location-based inequality is explored by mapping and calculating urban spatial patterns of service accessibility