Whether we stay healthy or become seriously ill is determined by our genes. But also, the folding of our genome has a significant influence on this, as the 3D genome organization regulates which genes are switched on and off. Researchers led by Marieke Oudelaar and Elisa Oberbeckmann at the Max Planck Institute (MPI) for Multidisciplinary Sciences have now succeeded in recreating the 3D folding of the yeast genome in the laboratory and deciphering the underlying mechanisms.