I can't imagine how fast time flies. It is already the third day of the conference and things are getting better and better.  Did I mention about the FREE STUFFS you can get at the exhibition? Oh yah, FREE STUFFS… Here is the list of FREE STUFFS that I have in my bag right now: 3 T-shirts, nice calendars, magnets, wristbands, and tons of pens…!  And don’t forget to attend the National Lecture tonight followed by the Reception with FREE DRINKS (well, at least 2 drink tickets anyway :)) So I figured that in a big meeting like this, there are many interesting talks happening at the same time and you might miss a few talks that you wanted to attend. Thus, I will update all of us with some interesting talks that I attended and hopefully, you will find some of them useful. SCIENCE UPDATE DAY 1: BIOENERGETIC SUBGROUP (morning) – MITOCHONDRIAL CALCIUM SIGNALING: NEW INSIGHTS AFTER MOLECULAR IDENTIFICATION OF THE CALCIUM UNIPORTER (MCU) A large portion of the subgroup discussion in the morning focused on the discovery of MCU (pore forming unit) and MICU1 (a key regulatory partner), and their role in Ca2+ uptake in the mitochondria. These Ca2+ uptake events are essential for controlling the metabolic coupling, regulation of cell death, and Ca2+ homeostasis.  The discussion focused on a wide range of techniques used to understand these pathways, including computational, molecular biology, and physiological techniques. But don’t forget that MCU might not be the sole Ca2+ transporter; there are many additional Ca2+ uptake pathways, including rapid mode of uptake (RaM) and type 1 ryanodine receptor (mRyR1). Thus, a picture is more complex and I am sure that more new exciting news will come in the near future. DAY 2: AUTOMATED CIRCULAR DICHROISM (CD) SPECTROSCOPY – A NEW WAY IN MEDIUM-THROUGHPUT ANALYSIS OF PROTEIN CONFORMATION This was a talk by Sebastian Fiedler (from Dr. Sandro Keller’s lab) during the Protein Conformation Platform session.  As all of us that are currently working with CD spectroscopy, we are aware that this is a very good method in estimating protein conformation, but rather time-consuming and require human attendance and care in cuvette cleaning. A new automated CD (ACD) setup described by Sebastian allows unattended, serial data acquisition on up to 384 samples and automated cell cleaning. They also took it to the next step in using this technique for quantifying the unfolding event of protein. If you are interested in their work and the ACD technology, please click here. NON-SCIENCE UPDATE So I managed to sneak out of the meeting at lunch yesterday to take a short tour to visit the Battleship New Jersey. The USS New Jersey is American’s most decorated battleship, These battle stars were collected from ample services in the WWII, Korean War, Vietnam War, Lebanon and Persian Gulf region. I had a great time there and learned a bit more about US History!! That is it from me for now!!! Remember, the Annual Meeting Reception is tonight after the National Lecture, and you have 2 drink tickets! Use them :) !! If you don’t want to use them, fee free to stop by my poster today (B434, at 1:45 PM) and I will be more than happy to take them :)!! Ps: BALTIMORE WON :)!!!!