Welcome
The 14th International Symposium on Biomineralization (BIOMIN XIV)
From Molecular and Nano-structural Analyses to Environmental Science
Dear Colleagues,
It is a great pleasure to invite you to the 14th International Symposium on Biomineralization (BIOMIN XIV), which will be held October 9-13, 2017, in Tsukuba, Japan. BIOMIN has recently been held during odd-numbered years to avoid overlapping with the Gordon Research Conference (GRC) on Biomineralization, which is held during even-numbered years.
This symposium will provide opportunities for the participants to exchange ideas and discuss them face-to-face, to develop respective research and to find global partners for future collaboration. Earlier symposia include the first one held in Mainz (Germany, 1970) and then in Georgetown (USA, 1974), Kashikojima (Japan, 1977), Amsterdam (Holland, 1982), Arlington (USA, 1986), Odawara (Japan, 1990), Monaco (1993), Niigata (Japan, 2001), Pucon (Chile, 2005), Lianyungang (China, 2008), Noosa (Australia, 2011), Freiberg (Germany, 2013) and Granada (Spain, 2015). Thus, this is the 4th symposium held in Japan. During the past 45 years, biomineralization research has unveiled detailed characteristics of the nano-structure of various biominerals, the formation mechanism of this nano-structure, including the initial stage of crystallization, and the function of organic matrices in biominerals. The knowledge gained has been applied to dental, medical, pharmaceutical, materials, agricultural and environmental sciences and paleontology. Biomineralization is, therefore, an important interdisciplinary research area. Further development is expected in both fundamental and applied research.
The organizing committee is preparing for an exciting and informative symposium program, including keynote lectures, several sessions, poster presentations and social programs for participants from around the world. The main sessions are as follows:
- 1. Emerging techniques in biomineralization
- 2. Crystallization and structure of biominerals
- 3. Molecular and cellular regulation in biomineralization
- 4. Genome-based analysis of biomineralization
- 5. Evolution in biomineralization
- 6. Medical aspects of biomineralization
- 7. Bio-inspired mineralization
- 8. Biominerals as proxy of palaeoenvironments
- 9. Mollusk shell formation
The organizing committee is planning to make a book of the proceedings for this symposium, which will be announced later.
Tsukuba City is located approximately 50 km northeast of Tokyo; approximate travel times from central Tokyo are 1 hour by train, 1.5 hours by bus from both Narita and Haneda International Airports or 1 hour by bus from Ibaragi Airport. Tsukuba City is famous for its natural environment and science institutes. Since the 1960s, many science institutes, including Tsukuba University, the national research institutes JAXA and AIST, and the research institutes of many private companies have moved to Tsukuba City from big cities such as Tokyo and Osaka to build up a modern, advanced city of science. Tsukuba is also a garden city with a beautiful natural environment, including the historical and cultural Mt. Tsukuba.
See you in Tsukuba!
With kind regards,
Prof. Dr. Hiromichi Nagasawa (Symposium chair)
On behalf of the BIOMIN XIV organizing committee