"Meeting Report DNA Repair 2006: Ninth Biennial Meeting of the German Society for Research on DNA Repair" [DNA Repair 6 (2007) 140-144

A comprehensive meeting on current aspects of DNA repair organized by, Jochen Dahm-Daphi, Ekkehard Dikomey, Alexander Bürkle, Marlis Frankenberg-Schwager, Frank Grosse, Andrea Hartwig, George Iliakis, Bernd Kaina, Jürgen Thomale, and Lisa Wiesmüller was held in Hamburg, Germany from 12 to 15 September 2006. This article summarizes information of invited lectures and proferred papers of six plenary sessions.     

B.M.A. Annual Meeting,Sydney, 10–16 August: Report of Proceedings

The One Hundred and Thirty-sixth Annual Meeting of the British Medical Association was held in Sydney from 10 to 16 August jointly with the Seventh Annual Meeting of the Australian Medical Association. Both meetings were associated with the Third Australian Medical Congress. It was the second Annual Meeting of the Association to be held in Australia, the previous one having been in Melbourne in 1935. Four plenary sessions were held on successive mornings, while meetings of various sections were held in the afternoons. An account of the first part of the Meeting is given below. The remainder will be reported next week.     

Advances in genome studies: the PAG 2010 conference

An overview is provided of the advances in plant, animal and human genome studies by summarizing the contents of seven plenary lectures presented at the Plant and Animal Genome (PAG) meeting in January 2010. The area of biology covered was wide and reflected the nature of this fast moving science.     

DNA Repair 2006: ninth biennial meeting of the German Society for Research on DNA repair

A comprehensive meeting on current aspects of DNA repair organized by, Jochen Dahm-Daphi, Ekkehard Dikomey, Alexander B_rkle, Marlis Frankenberg-Schwager, Frank Grosse, Andrea Hartwig, George Iliakis, Bernd Kaina, J_rgen Thomale, and Lisa Wiesm_ller was held in Hamburg, Germany from September 12 to 15, 2006. This article summarizes information of invited lectures and proferred papers of six plenary sessions.     

Initiating dialogue between scientists and managers of biological invasions

We describe an initiative to improve the flow of information between researchers and managers as part of two international scientific symposia on biological invasions held in South Africa in 2008 and 2009. Formal workshops and information sessions for land managers were run during the symposia. At the end of each symposium, the managers ran dedicated question-and-answer sessions on the research they felt was needed to improve their work. We discuss the potential of such interventions to increase interaction and awareness between researchers and managers of biological invasions. The symposia certainly provided the managers with opportunities to think about broader issues and develop contacts, but problems with terminology use and the lack of solutions specific to their context tempered the value of their experience. Conversely, researchers at times under-estimated the managers perceived relevance of their presentations to management. The structured and facilitated attendance of managers of invasive plants at international conferences on invasion biology is one mechanism for at least narrowing “the gap” between science and management.     

An invitation to the 16th international congress on photosynthesis research in 2013: opportunities and challenges in the 21st century

The 16th International Congress on Photosynthesis will be held August 11–16, 2013 in St. Louis, Missouri, USA. The congress will include 15 plenary lectures, 21 scientific symposia, poster sessions, exhibitors, opening reception, final banquet, excursions and accompanying persons program. The congress is organized as an official event sponsored by the International Society of Photosynthesis Research.     

A turning point for natural product discovery--ESF-EMBO research conference: synthetic biology of antibiotic production

Synthetic Biology is in a critical phase of its development: it has finally reached the point where it can move from proof-of-principle studies to real-world applications. Secondary metabolite biosynthesis, especially the discovery and production of antibiotics, is a particularly relevant target area for such applications of synthetic biology. The first international conference to explore this subject was held in Spain in October 2011. In four sessions on General Synthetic Biology, Filamentous Fungal Systems, Actinomyces Systems, and Tools and Host Structures, scientists presented the most recent technological and scientific advances, and a final-day Forward Look Plenary Discussion identified future trends in the field.     

Trench connection

'Trench Connection' was the first international symposium focusing primarily on the hadal zone (depths greater than 6000 m). It was held at the University of Tokyo's Atmosphere and Ocean Research Institute in November 2010. The symposium was successful in having attracted an international collective of scientists and engineers to discuss the latest developments in the exploration and understanding of the deepest environments on Earth. The symposium sessions were categorized into three themes: (i) new deep-submergence technology; (ii) trench ecology and evolution; and (iii) the physical environment. Recent technological developments have overcome the challenges of accessing the extreme depths, which have in turn prompted an international renewed interest in researching physical and biological aspects of the hadal ecosystems. This bringing together of international participants from different disciplines led to healthy discussions throughout the symposium, providing potential opportunities and realizations of where the future of unravelling hadal ecology lies. Hadal science is still at relatively rudimentary levels compared with those of shallower marine environments; however, it became apparent at the symposium that it is now an ever-expanding scientific field.     

Meeting report: fourth international congress of the Society for Melanoma Research

The 4th international melanoma congress of the Society for Melanoma Research (SMR), organized by Marianne Berwick (University of New Mexico), Paul Chapman (Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center), Rene Gonzalez (University of Colorado) and Ze'ev Ronai (Burnham Institute), was held at the Marriott Hotel in downtown New York on November 2007. The congress was attended by a record high number of attendees (over 500 delegates) who joined to discuss recent advances in melanoma biology and therapy. About 40% of the participants arrived from 39 countries, a testament to the high impact of this annual gathering on the international melanoma community. Over 120 of the participants were students or postdoctoral fellows, representing a most impressive fraction of young scientists engaged in melanoma research. The meeting consisted of more than 50 plenary and minisymposia presentations, stimulating the exchange of unpublished data and novel ideas, and helping to forge new collaborations that are anticipated to facilitate significant advances in basic, translational and clinical melanoma research. Another major focus of this meeting was over 160 posters, which were heavily attended and provided an effective forum for extensive informal discussions. This report will highlight the major scientific themes and advances of this most successful meeting, and provide a useful perspective on the current state of melanoma research, as well as where the field should be heading.     

News from the Biological Stain Commission no. 12

In this 12(th) issue of News from the Biological Stain Commission (BSC) under the heading of Regulatory affairs, the Biological Stain Commission's International Affairs Committee presents information from the meetings of ISO/TC 212/WG 1 Quality and competence in the medical laboratory and ISO/TC 212/WG 3 In vitro diagnostic products both held on 2 - 3 June 2010, plus information on the second plenary meeting of ISO/TC 212 Clinical laboratory testing and in vitro diagnostic test systems held on 4 June 2010. All meetings took place in Seoul, Republic of Korea. Finally, information is provided concerning the 25(th) meeting of CEN/TC 140 In vitro diagnostic medical devices held on 23 June 2010 in Berlin, Germany.     

Nucleic acid–protein interactions: Wedding for love or circumstances?

The sixth Figeac meeting on nucleic acid–protein interactions was held in Figeac, France, from September 26th to October 1st, 2008. It was organized by the working group “nucleic acid–protein interactions and gene expression” from the French Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. This report briefly summarizes the presentations by 40 speakers during the four plenary sessions, which were organised as follows: (1) nucleic acids: targets and tools, (2) RNA superstar, (3) nuclear structure and dynamics, and (4) new concepts – new approaches. A total of 22 plenary lectures, 18 oral communications and 40 posters were presented over the 5 days, providing a highly stimulating environment for scientific exchange between the ∼80 participants (biochemists, physicists, bio-informaticians and molecular and cellular biologists).     

Landscape assessment for sustainable planning

The 1st International Conference on Impact Assessment of Land Use Changes (IALUC) was held from the 6th to 9th of April 2008 at Humboldt University in Berlin, Germany. At the meeting, 160 oral presentations (including five plenary speeches) and 69 posters by representatives from 39 countries were presented. Papers and posters in four general sessions (Tools and Models, Policies and Scenarios, Scale and Indicators, and Participation and Socio-Economy) considered various aspects of the impact assessment of land use and landscape changes. This special section of the journal Ecological Indicators consists of nine selected presentations from different sub-sessions of the IALUC conference considering the use of indicators in landscape assessment.     

Understanding eco-complexity and promoting ecology of sustainability: Beijing EcoSummit 2007 Review

EcoSummit 2007 was successfully held in Beijing in May 22–27 with a theme of “Ecological complexity and sustainability: the opportunities and challenges of ecology faced by 21st century”. More than 1,400 delegates from over 70 countries and regions and 28 international/regional ecology-related organizations initiated or co-sponsored the summit. 13 plenary keynote speeches, 49 symposiums and 20 organized oral sessions were arranged. A Beijing Ecological Declaration has been adopted and disseminated world-wide with an accompanied title of “A World Role for Ecology: The Key to Life”. The summit shows that global ecological security, regional ecosystem service, and local human ecological health are becoming the three priority issues in the frontiers of world ecology. Ecology, a kind of natural philosophy, system science, engineering instrument and natural aesthetics in dealing with the relationship between Man and Nature, should be and must become the scientific basis for institutional reform, industrial transition, social/economic management and overall decision making. The ultimate goal of understanding, simplification and transformation of complexity is to regulate, conserve and construct a sustainable “Earth Village”.     

Great mood in proteomics: Beijing and the HUPO Human Brain Proteome Project

More than 1200 attendees came together at the 3(rd) HUPO World Congess in Beijing, October 25-27, 2004. In numerous different sessions the wide range of proteomic areas became visible. The HUPO Brain Proteome Project (HUPO BPP) organized an evening session on October 23, presenting the first results of two pilot studies as well as the newest, very positive international development in this field. The rising importance became even more apparent in the plenary presentation of all HUPO initiatives and the following congress activities.     

Special Issue of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Biophysical Reviews</Emphasis> dedicated to the 19<Superscript>th</Superscript> IUPAB Conference in Edinburgh,Scotland (July 2017).

From the 16th to the 20th of July 2017, the 19th IUPAB (International Union of Pure and Applied Biophysics) world congress was held in Edinburgh, Scotland. Organized in conjunction with the 11th EBSA (European Biophysical Societies’ Association) the meeting attracted over 1430 participants, had 35 scientific sessions and 10 plenary speakers. Each invited speaker was invited to contribute either a short review or a letter article that summarized the contents of their session. This special issue of Biophysical Reviews is dedicated to providing contextual background to some of the many talks presented at the meeting in Edinburgh. The reader is referred to supplementary issue 1 of volume 46 of the European Biophysics Journal for a complete listing of abstracts for all presented talks and posters.     

World Antibody-Drug Conjugate Summit,October 15–16, 2013, San Francisco,CA

The World Antibody-Drug Conjugate (WADC) Summits organized by Hanson Wade are currently the largest meetings fully dedicated to ADCs. The first global ADC Summit was organized in Boston in October 2010. Since 2011, two WADC are held every year in Frankfurt and San Francisco, respectively. The 2013 WADC San Francisco event was structured around plenary sessions with keynote speakers from AbbVie, Agensys, ImmunoGen, Immunomedics, Genentech, Pfizer and Seattle Genetics. Parallel tracks were also organized addressing ADC discovery, development and optimization of chemistry, manufacturing and control (CMC) issues. Discovery and process scientists, regulatory experts (US Food and Drug Administration), academics and clinicians were present, including representatives from biotechnology firms (Concortis, CytomX Therapeutics, Glykos, Evonik, Igenica, Innate Pharma, Mersana Therapeutics, Polytherics, Quanta Biodesign, Redwood Bioscience, Sutro Biopharma, SynAffix), pharmaceutical companies (Amgen, Genmab, Johnson and Johnson, MedImmune, Novartis, Progenics, Takeda) and contract research or manufacturing organizations (Baxter, Bayer, BSP Pharmaceuticals, Fujifilm/Diosynth, Lonza, Pierre Fabre Contract Manufacturing, Piramal, SAFC, SafeBridge).     

World Antibody-Drug Conjugate Summit,October 15–16, 2013, San Francisco,CA

The World Antibody-Drug Conjugate (WADC) Summits organized by Hanson Wade are currently the largest meetings fully dedicated to ADCs. The first global ADC Summit was organized in Boston in October 2010. Since 2011, two WADC are held every year in Frankfurt and San Francisco, respectively. The 2013 WADC San Francisco event was structured around plenary sessions with keynote speakers from AbbVie, Agensys, ImmunoGen, Immunomedics, Genentech, Pfizer and Seattle Genetics. Parallel tracks were also organized addressing ADC discovery, development and optimization of chemistry, manufacturing and control (CMC) issues. Discovery and process scientists, regulatory experts (US Food and Drug Administration), academics and clinicians were present, including representatives from biotechnology firms (Concortis, CytomX Therapeutics, Glykos, Evonik, Igenica, Innate Pharma, Mersana Therapeutics, Polytherics, Quanta Biodesign, Redwood Bioscience, Sutro Biopharma, SynAffix), pharmaceutical companies (Amgen, Genmab, Johnson and Johnson, MedImmune, Novartis, Progenics, Takeda) and contract research or manufacturing organizations (Baxter, Bayer, BSP Pharmaceuticals, Fujifilm/Diosynth, Lonza, Pierre Fabre Contract Manufacturing, Piramal, SAFC, SafeBridge).     

4th International Symposium on Autophagy: exploiting the frontiers of autophagy research

The 4th International Symposium on Autophagy was held in Mishima, a small town between Tokyo and Kyoto, October 1-5, 2006 (http://isa4th.umin.jp/). The meeting was organized by the group of Eiki Kominami. Approximately 150 participants took part in this well-organized meeting in the spacious and comfortable Toray Conference Hall (Fig. 1). The social program offered opportunities for informal discussions, Japanese culture (from karaoke singing to traditional drumming; Fig. 2), history and nature (a visit to a steaming volcano; Fig. 3), as well as delicious Japanese food. The scientific program started with two plenary lectures on Sunday evening. Daniel Klionsky gave an overview of Atg9 cycling in yeast and Shigekazu Nagata talked about apoptosis and engulfment of dead cells by macrophages. The meeting consisted of five oral sessions and two poster sessions covering a wide range of autophagy-related topics. Exciting unpublished results were presented in all sessions, showing how quickly autophagy research is progressing. Two themes were discussed in many sessions during the symposium: the role of autophagy in the degradation of aggregate-prone proteins and protein aggregates, and the possible role of p62 in autophagy.     

Report on the 53rd Annual Meeting of the Canadian Society of Biochemistry, Molecular and Cellular Biology: "Membrane Proteins in Health and Disease"

The meeting "Membrane Proteins in Health and Disease" featured 6 sessions and 2 satellite meetings. At the opening session, Gunnar von Heijne delivered a plenary lecture entitled Insertion of Membrane Proteins into the Endoplasmic Reticulum. The following session topics were Membrane Protein Trafficking and Folding, Regulation of Membrane Proteins, Membrane Protein Structure, Membrane Proteins in Diverse Species, and Membrane Proteins and Diseases. The satellite meetings discussed bicarbonate transporters and Na+/H+ exchangers. Together the 21 lectures and 106 posters presented at the meeting spanned the full spectrum of current research into membrane protein structure and function.