Conference: The Biology and Chemistry of Vision, Tucson, AZ, Summer 2003

这是美国实验生物学联合会(FASE B)关于视觉生物学与化学的系列会议的第九次会议，该联合会自1985年以来每两年举行一次会议，每次都有不同的主题，强调在广阔的视野中取得的进展。参加的科学家从大约120到160人不等，具体包括至少10%的初级科学家。会议讨论的方法是高度跨学科的，包括分子生物学、生理学、生物化学和遗传学。在这个特别的会议上，重点放在光感受器细胞组件上，涉及发育、视觉转导、暗适应和细胞维持。这种形式包括讲座、广泛的非正式讨论时间和持续的海报会议，强调来自不同领域的工人之间的互动。两年一度的时间安排提供了一个很好的视角，今年对光感受器和遗传学的关注与视觉研究的前沿很好地匹配，并增加了受欢迎的进化主题。这次会议的潜在影响在几个子视野领域很高，因为在会谈和海报上的讨论，很可能会有对年轻调查人员的职业发展至关重要的互动和介绍。更广泛的影响还包括提高年轻研究人员对视觉神经科学的兴趣和知名度，这似乎可能导致新型的跨学科协作互动。

This is the ninth meeting of the series on the Biology & Chemistry of Vision, from the Federation of American Societies of Experimental Biology (FASEB), which has met biennially since 1985, with varying topics each time to stress advances in the broad field of vision. Attendance ranges from around 120-160 scientists, with the specific inclusion of at least 10% of junior scientists. The conference is highly interdisciplinary in the approaches discussed, including molecular biology, physiology, biochemistry and genetics. In this particular conference, the stress is on photoreceptor cell components involved in development, visual transduction, dark adaptation, and cell maintenance. The format includes a combination of lectures, periods for extensive informal discussion, and ongoing poster sessions, emphasizing interactions between workers from different fields. The biennial timing allows a good perspective, and this year's focus on photoreceptors and genetics is well matched to the leading edges of visual research, with the welcome addition of evolutionary topics. The potential impact of this conference is high in several subfields of vision, because of the discussions at the talks and at the posters, where there are likely to be interactions and introductions essential to career development of young investigators. Broader impacts also include raising the interest and visibility of young investigators in visual neuroscience, and it seems likely lead to new kinds of collaborative interdisciplinary interactions.