The third q-bio conference on cellular information processing [Editorial]

The q-bio Conference hasmarked its third anniversary (in fact, as we are writing this, the fourth installment of the conference has concluded, the discussion of which is for the next Special Issue). It is fair to say that, in the three years since the inaugural event, the conference has established itself as a prominent meeting on the landscape of international systems biology gatherings. The conference fills an important gap in the field through its emphasis on quantitative, predictive modelling, high precision, physics-style experimentation, and theoretical quest for general principles of biological design. This year we began to see the students and postdocs of those who had presented at the earlier q-bio events, providing a glimpse of the impact of the conference on the community. The number of students at the affiliated q-bio summer school increased again; and attendance at the conference remained high despite the tough financial times. The 2009 conference attracted prominent biologists such as Bruce Alberts, Rita Colwell, and Michael Levin and it was encouraging to see these representatives of `traditional?? biology embrace the spirit of the meeting and the emerging field. The conference and the field owe Dr. Colwell a debt of gratitude, as her tenure as Director of the National Science Foundation is widely credited with the explosive growth of quantitative techniques in the life sciences ?? techniques without which q-bio science would be impossible.