Introduction
Here you find the scientific program.
The Beilstein Symposia address contemporary issues in the chemical and related sciences by employing an interdisciplinary approach. Scientists from a wide range of areas are invited to present aspects of their work for discussion, with the aim of not only advancing science, but also enhancing interdisciplinary communication. Traditionally, the Beilstein Symposia are kept small with up to 40 participants to provide a convivial atmosphere for the both lectures and intense discussions and the ready exchange of thoughts and ideas.
Glycomics is an emerging field within the "-omics-sciences" which addresses the investigation of the structure-function relationships of complex biosynthesized carbohydrates and the role they play within biological systems.
The post-genomic era has seen an explosion of activities in the areas of genomics and proteomics in both fundamental research as well as biotechnology applications. Sequencing and synthesis of nucleic acids and proteins has been performed in an automated fashion for many years now; these important basic techniques are now being applied to carbohydrates. Through the work of a number of key laboratories around the world, significant scientific and technical advances are being made resulting in an increasing number of data sets of important interactions of carbohydrates with proteins and nucleic acids become available.
The scientific progress of both genomics and proteomics relies on the interdisciplinary nature of a laboratory-based and a computer-based cooperation. Such an interdisciplinary “glyco”-based community is currently starting to become established; this symposium was aimed at supporting these efforts by bringing together glycochemists and biologists with experts in bioinformatics and computer sciences to lay the ground-work for a concerted effort in the area of glyco-bioinformatics.
The symposium covered the use of publicly available data, data mining, structure prediction and docking of carbohydrates, web-based services to combine proteomics and glycomics data for structure-function research and glycosylation analysis.
The meeting provided an unique opportunity to pave the way such that in the next few years glyco-bioinformatics can be integrated in a universal platform that will serve biologists, chemists and all interested in glycosciences.
Scientific Committee: Martin Hicks and Carsten Kettner, Beilstein-Institut, Frankfurt am Main, Germany; Peter Seeberger, MPI of Colloids and Interfaces, Potsdam, Germany
General Information
The symposium took place from the 4th - 8th October 2009 in the avendi Hotel am Griebnitzsee in Potsdam/Germany. The setting and the limited number of participants provided a very convivial atmosphere for the ready exchange of thoughts and ideas.
