IBC – Proteomics, 1–2 March 2000, Basel Hilton, Switzerland

The massive increase in nucleotide sequence information available in public and private databases, coupled with advances in mass spectrometry (MS) and the associated search algorithms, have provided the basis for the emerging field of proteomics. The recent announcement of 35 000 or so genes in the human genome was on the low side of the number predicted. Yet, it re-affirms the view that cellular organisation is a complex system of protein complexes and networks of gene products. As Walter Blackstock (Glaxo-Wellcome, UK) pointed out ‘We achieve our complexity not by sheer force of gene numbers, but by the infinitely subtle way in which gene products interact’. As a newcomer to the field it is clear that proteomics is now coming of age. At the end of the two day proteomics conference held at the Basel Hilton, Switzerland, my overriding impression was that momentum is gathering around the globe to catalogue and characterise the proteins encoded by the human genome, to compare variations in their expression levels under different conditions, study their interactions, and identify their functional roles. Proteomics on this scale requires new technologies and techniques and considerable effort is currently being devoted to the development of novel tools of the trade.