Maarten Larmuseau

🧬 Over 1,000 years of history revealed from 3,000+ burials in Sint-Truiden.

Researchers from KU Leuven & global partners uncovered genetic traces of migration, ancestry & the Black Death, powered by VSC 💻

📰 Read more www.vscentrum.be/post/discove...

#HPC #DNA #Paleogenomics #Supercomputing

Yes, correct! OLV is the name of the church in Sint-Truiden. Best wishes

Dankjewel Lieven!

Urbanization and genetic homogenization in the medieval Low Countries revealed through a ten-century paleogenomic study of the city of Sint-Truiden - Genome Biology Background Processes shaping the formation of the present-day population structure in highly urbanized Northern Europe are still poorly understood. Gaps remain in our understanding of when and how cur...

For all the details, read our paper: genomebiology.biomedcentral.com/articles/10....

For the first time, we could reconstruct migration, family structure, urban development and epidemics in one medieval town in Flanders. (9/9)

Many congrats to Owyn Beneker, Toomas Kivisild, Christiana Scheib & all co-authors! Thanks to @fwovlaanderen.bsky.social and agentschap Onroerend erfgoed

We found few family ties among the 400 individuals—far fewer than in medieval Cambridge (UK). Only near the abbey, in the cemetery’s oldest part, were relatives more often buried together. Likely a reflection of social status. (8/9)

The plague left no significant impact on the population’s genetic makeup. We also found no evidence of lasting changes in immune gene diversity.
Other pathogens linked to poverty and poor hygiene were detected too, including Borrelia and Leptospira. (7/9)

For the first time, we found direct evidence of the plague in medieval Flanders: Yersinia pestis DNA in five individuals from the 14th century.
They were scattered across the cemetery—not in mass graves. No historical record from 14th-century Sint-Truiden mentions the plague at that time. (6/9)

From the 11th century onward, the population became genetically more homogeneous—similar to today’s people from region. This was result of centuries of mixing between ‘Gallic’ (blue) & ‘Germanic’ (orange) ancestral groups, shaping north-south genetic gradient still visible in Low Countries. (5/9)

The earliest inhabitants (8th–10th century) were remarkably genetically diverse (red on PCA). Differences between Flemish sites were then almost as large as those between present-day Flemish & Spanish populations. We even found 5 individuals with ancestry similar to medieval Irish or Scots. (4/9)

Teeth from 400 individuals were sampled as sterile as possible for ancient DNA. The result: a genetic timeline of a millennium, spread across the entire cemetery. (3/9)

In 2019, more than 3000 skeletons were excavated beneath the Groenmarkt in Sint-Truiden, the historic cemetery of the Church of Our Lady. For centuries, it lay also in the shadow of the influential abbey of Saint Trudo (†693). (2/9)

Discover our results of the largest ancient DNA study ever conducted on a single burial site: 400 skeletons from the Belgian city Sint-Truiden (8th–18th century). A unique glimpse into 1000 years of genetic history. (1/9) @kuleuvenuniversity.bsky.social

UYSD: a novel data repository accessible via public website for worldwide population frequencies of Y-SNP haplogroups - European Journal of Human Genetics European Journal of Human Genetics - UYSD: a novel data repository accessible via public website for worldwide population frequencies of Y-SNP haplogroups

We proudly present UYSD:
a new open-access repository with global Y-SNP haplogroup frequencies.
A valuable resource for forensic genetics, genetic genealogy, population studies, and more.
👉 www.nature.com/articles/s41...

YouTube video by In Flanders Fields Museum Vermist en Gevonden | Missing and Found

🎬 Aanrader: gratis documentaire ‘Vermist en Gevonden’ ging gisteren in première in @StadIeper!
Leerlingen uit het secundair onderwijs onderzoeken het lot van vermiste WOI-soldaten.
Ik praat met hen over DNA-identificatie en ethische kwesties.
Bekijk hier 👉 www.youtube.com/watch?v=_fkm...

Hear Prof. dr. Maarten H.D. Larmuseau’s talk “Mommy’s baby, daddy’s maybe”: Genetic genealogical reconstruction of extra-pair paternity behaviour.

Prof. dr. Larmuseau is a genetic genealogist at KU Leuven (University of Leuven, Belgium).

🎟️Register > bit.ly/3QzHhe9

YouTube video by Today I Learned Science Who’s Your Daddy?? No seriously.

Apparently I have an "oddly specific scientific obsession"... guilty as charged 😅
Thanks #TILscience for the nice video on our research @kuleuvenuniversity.bsky.social www.youtube.com/shorts/1hrr2...

Intrusive thoughts during pregnancy, paternity detectives, and updates from the Trump Tracker On this week’s show: The latest news on how U.S. government science agencies are being impacted by President Donald Trump’s administration, how researchers are using genealogy and DNA testing to find ...

I'm on the @science.org podcast this week with @maartenlarmuseau.bsky.social & @bscelza.bsky.social talking about genetic genealogy, cuckoldry and extra-pair paternity: www.science.org/content/podc... (Starting around 15:00)

How often are children genetically unrelated to their presumed fathers? Tackling a touchy subject, genetic detective finds only 1% of European children have unexpected paternity

Honoured to see an article about my research on extra-pair paternity in @science.org. Many thanks to journalist @spoke32.bsky.social for the story and to all colleagues for their quotes!
Hopefully, future visitors to my office will be less surprised by a (reproduction) 17th-century painting...

How often are children genetically unrelated to their presumed fathers? Tackling a touchy subject, genetic detective finds only 1% of European children have unexpected paternity

Geneticist @maartenlarmuseau.bsky.social tackles a touchy question: How often are children genetically unrelated to their presumed fathers?

Looking forward to my keynote talk 'Mommy's baby, daddy's mayby' at the (online) genetic genealogical symposium! Booking is now open 👇 www.strath.ac.uk/studywithus/...

Dit weekend is het groot feest in Leuven voor de 600ste verjaardag van onze alma mater KU Leuven! 🎉🍾
Zoveel te beleven maar je kan starten met mijn 600 sec lezing over 'Het DNA-verhaal van Vlaanderen'. 🧬
Iedereen welkom om 10u in de promotiezaal, Naamsestraat 22 www.kuleuven.be/600jaar/prog...

Misattributed paternity discovery: A critique of medical organizations’ recommendations The five authors recently discovered their misattributed paternity (MP), two ascertaining that, decades ago, their pediatricians abetted the paternity deception. From their unique perspective, the aut...

Important critique by individuals who personally discovered their #misattributed #paternity.
Their analysis exposes ethical and clinical shortcomings in current medical guidelines. The discussion on transparency needs to be reassessed.
👉https://www.cell.com/ajhg/fulltext/S0002-9297%2825%2900006-0

Ik heb de fouten laten weten! @vrtnws.bsky.social

Meisjes aan de macht? DNA-onderzoek suggereert dat mannen hun vrouwen volgden bij Kelten in Verenigd Koninkrijk

2 fouten in 1 quote bij vrtnws🫣: "Ze hebben enerzijds het mitochondriaal DNA bestudeerd. Dat is DNA dat zich op de celwand bevindt en enkel via moeder op dochter wordt doorgegeven".
Het bevindt in mitochondriën en niet in celwand, en het is via moeder op kind (ook zoon).
www.vrt.be/vrtnws/nl/20...

Continental influx and pervasive matrilocality in Iron Age Britain - Nature An analysis of ancient mitochondrial and nuclear DNA shows evidence of matrilocal communities in Iron Age Britain.

Ancient DNA reveals fascinating patterns in Iron Age Britain🧬Genomes from Durotriges tribe uncovers a matrilocal pattern, previously undescribed in European prehistory. Dominant maternal lines shaped southern Britain's genetic landscape.⚡ #AncientDNA #IronAge www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Leuk artikel van @maartenlarmuseau.bsky.social in de standaard vandaag! Ik had nog niet op dat verschil gelet. m.standaard.be/cnt/dmf20241...

“I’m trying to figure out who the hell I am”: Examining the psychosocial and mental health experience of individuals learning “Not Parent Expected” news from a direct-to-consumer DNA ancestry test - B... Background According to recent estimates, around 30 million people have taken Direct-to-Consumer DNA ancestry tests, typically marketed as a fun, harmless and exciting process of discovery. These test...

In our new study, we examine the psychological impact and #MentalHealth challenges following the discovery of a 'not parent expected' (#NPE) result through commercial #DNAtesting. 👉 bmcpsychiatry.biomedcentral.com/articles/10....

Who Lived in Early Medieval Flanders? DNA Reveals the Answer - Medievalists.net Who lived in Flanders during the 7th century, and where did they come from? New DNA research from Merovingian graves in Koksijde has uncovered surprising insights into the region's diverse ancestral o...

New press article about our ancientDNA study in medieval Flanders 🧬 #archaeology #DNA #Flanders
www.medievalists.net/2024/11/earl...