It was Saturday morning, and many of us were a bit jet-lagged. First talk of the day, mechanobiology subgroup symposium, 2024 Biophysical Society Meeting in Philadelphia. After the first talk finished, the two microphones loomed in the central aisle, daring someone to ask a question. Despite it all, once the questions started, the room slowly came to life and it seemed the meeting was officially underway.

In my years attending the Biophysical Society Meeting, I've always enjoyed these "Subgroup Saturdays", where each of 18 subgroups hosts a 4-hour symposium featuring talks by leaders of the field, early career researchers, and graduate students alike. Between the chance to greet old friends and colleagues or the opportunities to chat with someone whose research you just heard about, it's a great way to kick off each year's meeting.

For anyone interested in the dynamics of these subgroup meetings, I thought I might share a few spatiotemporal insights. I'd try to develop a computational model to describe these dynamics but I'm afraid simulating groups of biophysicists is outside my range of expertise.

1. At times, the microphones in the center of the room seem to exert a repulsive force. To be fair, this can happen in any session at any meeting, but perhaps this effect is aggravated by this being the very start of the meeting. Having managed to go up there myself a few times, though, I would advise folks that it's not quite as bad as it might look.
2. Like clockwork, any hint of a subgroup business meeting seems to elicit a dramatic efflux of biophysicists from the given room. Perhaps this section of each subgroup meeting needs a rebranding, or perhaps it simply cannot be helped.
3. On the other hand, these talks often trigger an influx of new ideas (at least for me). I am excited to learn about a range of projects I simply had no idea about beforehand, and can't help but thinking about connecting it to my own work. Fresh concepts and inspiring words leave me ready for the next several days of conference.