Fuellen G et al. (2012) Rejuvenation Res "Systems biology and bioinformatics in aging research: a workshop report."

Fuellen G, Priebe S, Dengjel J, Stolzing A, Rebholz-Schuhmann D, Hoeflich A, Kestler HA, Hoeijemakers J, Kowald A, Schmitz U, Suhnel J, Wuttke D, Schmeck B, Vera J

[Rejuvenation Res, 2012]

In an "aging society," health span extension is most important. As in 2010, talks in this series of meetings in Rostock-Warnemunde demonstrated that aging is an apparently very complex process, where computational work is most useful for gaining insights and to find interventions that counter aging and prevent or counteract aging-related diseases. The specific topics of this year's meeting entitled, "RoSyBA: Rostock Symposium on Systems Biology and Bioinformatics in Ageing Research," were primarily related to "Cancer and Aging" and also had a focus on work funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). The next meeting in the series, scheduled for September 20-21, 2013, will focus on the use of ontologies for computational research into aging, stem cells, and cancer. Promoting knowledge formalization is also at the core of the set of proposed action items concluding this report.

Ceron J et al. (2008) Genome Biol "Caenorhabditis elegans comes of age."

Ceron J, Swoboda P

[Genome Biol, 2008]

: A report of the European C. elegans 2008 meeting, Seville, Spain, 29 March-2 April 2008.

Chalasani SH et al. (2007) Genome Biol "Global 'worming'."

Feinberg EH, Hilliard MA, Chalasani SH

[Genome Biol, 2007]

: A report on the 16th International Caenorhabditis elegans Meeting, Los Angeles, USA, 27 June-1 July 2007.

Crombie C et al. (2003) Genome Biol "The not-so-humble worm."

Fraser A, Crombie C, Junio A

[Genome Biol, 2003]

A report of the Wellcome Trust meeting "Caenorhabditis elegans past, present and future: The not-so-humble worm", Hinxton, UK, 10 September 2003.

Hodgkin JA (1991) New Biol "The interactive worm. Eighth international C. elegans Meeting, Madison, WI, USA, June 1-5, 1991."

Hodgkin JA

[New Biol, 1991]

The biennial meeting on the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, which has been held at Cold Spring Harbor on six previous occasions, this year grew too big for the motels of Long Island and moved westward to Madison, where over 500 participants spent 4 packed days discussing recent discoveries and future prospects. Gone are the days when research on this tiny worm seemed like a cottage industry, pursued only by a small group of devotees. However, the holistic approach to the nematode still prevails, as demonstrated by the absence of parallel sessions at the meeting. Genomics, genetics, neurobiology, cell biology, biochemistry, and development remain inextricably interwoven for most of the scientists studying C. elegans. Appropriately enough, biological interactions proved to be a leitmotiv of the 1991 meeting.

Kahn AJ (2015) J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci "FOXO3 and related transcription factors in development, aging, and exceptional longevity."

Kahn AJ

[J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci, 2015]

In June 2013, a workshop was convened in San Francisco to explore, in depth, the role of the Forkhead transcription factor FOXO3 (and related FOXOs) in development, aging, and, in particular, exceptional longevity. The presentations covered results derived from model systems, computational analysis and bioinformatics, and genomics and genome-wide association studies of a number of cohorts. Although the data collectively strongly reinforce FOXO3 and the FOXO/FOXO3 pathway as very important determinants in aging and life span, much of the detail of how the latter is achieved still remains unknown, in part, because of the very large number of genes (~2,200 in Caenorhabditis elegans) the transcription factor is involved in helping regulate. Particularly challenging at the present time is understanding the association of apparently nonfunctional specific variants (single nucleotide polymorphisms) of FOXO3 and exceptional longevity in humans, a finding replicated in a number of studies. Nonetheless, as summarized in this report, valuable information and insights were presented at the workshop on the transcription factor including but not limited to its role in determining longevity in C elegans and Drosophila (in flies, eg, an important interaction in aging occurs between dFOXO and the transforming growth factor-/activin pathway), stem cell function and aging (notably in hematopoiesis), downstream regulatory activity (eg, by binding near sites of RNAse occupancy and altering chromatin structure), and as a potential target for the development a healthy aging drug (in this example, using compounds developed and screened to effect FOXO function in cancer cells).

Mulcahy B et al. (2010) Invert Neurosci "Meeting report: 2010 Caenorhabditis elegans Neurobiology Meeting, University of Wisconsin, USA."

Mulcahy B, Ient B

[Invert Neurosci, 2010]

Against the backdrop of the scenic Lake Mendota, the C. elegans Neurobiology Meeting came to a head. Expertly organised by Brian Ackley and Bruce Bamber and hosted at the accommodating University of Wisconsin, the meeting brought together recent contributions from many of the major research groups working on the neurobiology of C. elegans. With seven keynote speakers, 57 verbal presentations and hundreds of posters, this exciting event spanned a fascinating 3days from 27 June to 30 June 2010. In keeping with the tradition of this conference, the event on the whole was spearheaded by young investigators from several research institutions. The meeting served to emphasise the gains enjoyed by taking advantage of the genetic tractability of the worm. A thread that ran through the meeting was the importance of integrating data across different levels of biological organisation to permit delineation of the physiology underpinning discrete behavioural states. Recent advances in optogenetics and microfluidics were at the forefront of refining these analyses. The presentations discussed in this meeting report are a selection which reflects this overarching theme.

Goldstein B et al. (2009) Development "Shape meets polarity in Japan."

Hamada H, Goldstein B

[Development, 2009]

A diverse group of developmental biologists who study cell polarity gathered in late March 2009 at the RIKEN Center for Developmental Biology in Kobe, Japan, for a symposium entitled ;Shape and Polarity''. The organizers, Masatoshi Takeichi, Fumio Matsuzaki, Hitoshi Sawa [RIKEN Center for Developmental Biology (CDB), Kobe, Japan] and Carl-Philipp Heisenberg (Max Planck Institute, Dresden, Germany), put together an engaging program that highlighted recent progress towards understanding the mechanisms of cell polarization during development, and the functions of cell polarity in shaping development.

Fraser A (2003) Nat Genet "Worms in L.A."

Fraser A

[Nat Genet, 2003]

In the year that the Nobel Prize was awarded to Sydney Brenner, Bob Horvitz and Sir John Suslton, the 14th International C. elegans meeting was bound to be a celebration as well as a scientific meeting and social get-together. The celebratory mood reached its high point during the keynote address by Sydney Brenner, the 'Father of the Worm'. The address was classic Brenner, at once provocative and Delphic, with incisive analogies, witty anecdotes and sweeping dismissals (systems biology did not fare well), all delivered with his usual flair.

Thompson BJ et al. (2012) EMBO Rep "The young and happy marriage of membrane traffic and cell polarity."

Perez F, Vaccari T, Thompson BJ

[EMBO Rep, 2012]

The ESF-EMBO meeting on 'Cell Polarity and Membrane Traffic' took place in Poland in April 2012. It brought together scientists from two once separate fields and highlighted their emerging interdependence. The wealth of scientific insights and discoveries presented laid a path for future research.