Gordon Research Conference: 2009 Fertilization and the Activation of Development Gordon Research Conference, July 12-17, 2009 at Holderness School, Holderness, New Hampshire

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Generating a new individual in many species requires the fusion of sperm and egg, the male and female gametes. This crucial event, called fertilization, involves cellular processes such as differentiation, motility, information exchange, recognition, fusion and development that lay at the heart of modern biology. This is an exciting time to hold a conference in the field of fertilization and early development as some basic concepts in gamete physiology are being revised. The seventeenth Gordon Research Conference (GRC) on fertilization and the activation of development will provide a forum for presentation and discussion of new developments and ideas in this exciting, rapidly advancing field. This is the only GRC concerned with gamete interaction leading to the vital process of fertilization and activation of the fertilized egg to begin the process of embryo formation. It provides an excellent atmosphere that promotes rich interactions amongst biochemists, cell biologists, molecular biologists, physiologists, geneticists, and biophysicists working in the field. This conference has been singularly successful in fostering collaborations among scientists with widely disparate experience and seniority and, among research laboratories in this country and in Europe, Japan, Australia and Latin America. These collaborations have led to many fruitful results. Since 1974, researchers, postdoctoral fellows and students from the field keep attending this conference; when asked, many indicate "it is the best conference in the field". Fundamental concepts and insights about the molecular mechanisms involved in fertilization come out of the sessions and individual discussions that the format of this meeting promotes. Without doubt, this knowledge eventually impacts clinical issues in reproduction and human well-being.