An arrangement of intersecting ideas: The CNC 2010 meeting report

membrane fusion, following the chronology of their discovery [1]. Membrane fusion processes are essential steps in neurotransmitter and hormone release, being tightly regulated by signals such as calcium ions. Rothman’s seminar included the disFounded in 1386, the University of Heidelberg is one of Europe’s intellectual centers. But the city of Heidelberg houses not only the University, but also several international renowned biological research centers such as the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), the Max Planck Institute for Medical Research and the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ). Funded by the German government, CellNetworks is an excellence cluster uniting over 100 research groups at these different centers. The cluster’s main goal is to explore and characterize the functional networks of the cell and how cells communicate with each other, pursuing undisclosed secrets of nature. To fulfill this challenge, CellNetworks not only brings together specialists of different fields – physics, chemistry, biology and mathematics – but also provides an infrastructure of core facilities, equipped with the most advanced instruments. From 23 – 26 September 2010, top researchers of different areas from all over the world met for the First CellularNetworks Conference (CNC 2010) and presented their latest results.The conference was divided in four major areas: Spatial and Temporal Dynamics of Macromolecular Complexes, covery, from crude culture cells extracts, of the NEM-sensitive factor protein (known as NSF) and the soluble NSF attachment protein (SNAP) [2-3]. Characterization of these molecules led to discovery of receptors (t-SNAREs) located at the plasma membrane. These t-SNAREs specifically pair with their counterparts in the vesicle membranes (V-SNAREs) and allow the formation of the SNARE complex that drives the membrane fusion process [4]. Marina Rodnina (MPI for Biophysical Chemistry, Göttingen, Germany) and Nenad Ban (ETH Zurich, Switzerland) discussed the molecular structure of the ribosome. Michael P. Rout and Reiner Peters, both from Rockefeller University (New York, USA), talked about the nuclear pore complex. Using advanced imaging technologies like two-photon 4Pi microscopy [5] and proteomic approaches followed by computational analysis [6], they presented data characterizing the nuclear pore complex structure and functionality, using yeast as a eukaryotic model. By combining computational analysis and proteomics, Rout’s group was able to characterize the position and shape of CellNetworks is an excellence cluster uniting over 100 research groups at these different centers Positioning towards the future of molecular life sciences the University of Heidelberg held the First CellularNetworks Conference in September 2010. For four days the cutting edge of the molecular basis of cellular signaling and high-resolution imaging, encompassing neuronal biology and virushost cell relations, were debated in a series of talks of leading researchers in their respective fields.