Scientific publisher Nature Publishing Group (NPG), UK, and the La Fondation Ipsen recently conducted the sixth meeting of the Emergence & Convergence mini-symposia. The event comprised one-day meetings highlighting various dynamic sectors in biological and medical research. The meeting discussed a particularly important area in neurological disease research: the mitochondrial dysfunction.
Mitochondria are responsible for maintaining the energy balance of the cell and are also responsible for triggering apoptosis (programmed cell death) in response to oxidative stress. The one-day mini-symposium aimed to highlight recent advances in the understanding of how these organelles function in the nervous system, and how mitochondrial dysfunction contributes to neurological disease. Speakers at the meeting were leading international experts.
In 2007, the two organisations came together to create a new series of scientific events - the Emergence & Convergence mini-symposia. Each meeting in the series brings together a group of speakers to address a topic of strong current interest and one which has elements both of new advances in the field - 'emergence' - and a developing consensus on the importance and integration of the new advances with existing understanding - 'convergence'. Where applicable, meetings are cross-disciplinary in nature to facilitate and promote collaboration.
