The cellular aspects of infection, including cell invasion and host-pathogen interactions, will be the topic of a one-day meeting to be co-sponsored by the Royal Microscopical Society (RMS) and the Society for General Microbiology (SGM) during Microscience 2008, to be held June 23-26 at Excel London exhibition and conference center. Microscience, organized by the RMS, is a biennial international conference and exhibition on the science of microscopy, imaging and analysis. The meeting, the first collaboration between the societies, will be held June 24.“The meeting promises to be extremely interesting as we seek to gain further understanding of the cellular battle with cutting-edge viewpoints presented, such as the role that autophagy [cell degradation processes] may play in this process,” said Paul Monaghan, RMS secretary science (life science) and head of bioimaging at the Institute of Animal Health Pirbright, a government research lab that investigates diseases of farm animals. "Interestingly, there is some uncertainty as to whether autophagy is used by pathogens as an aid to induce replication, or by host cells as a defense mechanism." These African swine fever viruses (red) have created an aggresome-like structure for assembly; they will then hitch a ride on the cytoskeleton to exit the cell. (Photo: N. Jouvenet and P Monaghan, Institute of Animal Health, Pirbright; courtesy Royal Microscopical Society) Timo Hyypia, a professor in the virology department at the University of Turku, Finland, will speak about cellular interactions of enteroviruses," and Mark Jepson, senior research fellow and manager of the Cell Imaging Facility at the University of Bristol, will discuss how bacteria invade cells. Urs Greber, a zoology professor with the University of Zurich, will describe interactions of viruses with the cell cytoskeleton; the manipulation of cellular compartments by the SARS coronavirus for replication purposes will be the topic of Marjolein Kikkert, a medical microbiologist at Leiden University Medical Center in the Netherlands. Michelle Swanson, associate professor of microbiology and immunology at the University of Michigan Medical School, will introduce the role of autophagy (a normal cellular process that helps cells last through times of nutrient stress) in bacterial and viral infection. Submitted papers about this area of research will also be presented at Microscience, and more than 100 exhibits of products related to light and electron microscopy will be featured. Plenary speakers will be David King, University of Cambridge, Harry Kroto, Florida State University; Stefan Hell, Max Plank Institute for Biophysical Chemistry; and Knut Urban, Research Center Juelich, Germany. Social events will include an opening night reception, an exclusive river cruise and a delegate party. For details, visit: www.microscience2008.org.uk