Modeling chromatin with magnetic polymers

by Alberto Raiola

Wednesday 18 Nov 2026, 12:30 → 13:30 Europe/Rome

1/1-2 - Aula "C. Voci" (Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia - Edificio Marzolo)

Chromatin, the complex of DNA and proteins that makes our chromosomes, is not folded randomly inside the nucleus. Its three-dimensional organization changes between cell types and is closely linked to which genes are switched on or off. Chemical marks along the chain, known as epigenetic marks, help set this organization, and they can be mantained and passed on through cell divisions, acting as a form of cellular memory.

In this talk I will first give a brief introduction to chromatin biophysics. I will then introduce magnetic polymers, simple models in which each monomer carries a spin that interacts with its neighbors in space. Finally, I will present my work on magnetic polymer models as a framework for studying how epigenetic memory and chromatin structure arise and shape each other.