EBEC 2012-An energetic time in Freiburg

The EBEC is a major international event in 'Bioenergetics', the discipline that studies energy transformation in biological systems. The series began in 1980, shortly after the Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to Peter Mitchell for his work on the chemiosmotic mechanism of energy conservation. The Mitchell theory still provides the framework for understanding how respiratory complexes, photosynthetic complexes and ATP synthases work, and how the transport of ions and metabolites through energy-conservingmembranes integrates metabolism and cell respiration within the context of cellular signalling. This perfect match allows the production of ATP to be adapted to the changing energy requirements of the cell, and its derangements often provide the key to understanding disease pathogenesis. Since 1994, in recognition of Mitchell's outstanding contributions to the discipline, the meeting has begun with a plenary lecture by the recipient of the Peter Mitchell Medal, which in two cases preceded the award of a Nobel Prize. This year's Medal was awarded to H. Ronald Kaback (U. California, Los Angeles, USA), who presented a lecture on 'Lactose permease: a beautiful chemiosmotic machine'. The meeting then unfolded through plenary lectures, parallel symposia and poster presentations. It is impossible to cover all presentations, so we have selected a set of topics and apologizeto those who are not featured here.