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Erika Check reports back from the third annual meeting of the International Society for Stem Cell Research in San Francisco, where scientists and doctors discuss everything from the clinical use of adult and embryonic stem cells, to the laws and cash that support the research.

Thousands of delegates from around the world have congregated for the annual meeting of the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) in Philadelphia. Sabine Lou©t, news editor for Nature Biotechnology, reports back from the scene.

The time is ripe for news about everything from cloning to fertility research, as experts convene for the annual meeting of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology in Copenhagen this week. Roxanne Khamsi sends regular reports from the conference.

For all the latest news on quarks and quasars, join Mark Peplow at the 16-19 April meeting of the American Physical Society in Tampa, Florida. Here some 1600 physicists have converged to discuss the extremes of the Universe, presenting their latest discoveries about the very large and the very small.

Members of the American Physical Society are gathering from around the globe for one of the world's biggest annual physics meetings. As 2005 is the Year of Physics, celebrating the centenary of Einstein's most famous papers, this get-together promises to be a special one. Sarah Tomlin reports from Los Angeles.

Boot up your laptop and charge your mobile phone...it's time to get technical in San Diego. Software developers and Web innovators meet there this week at the O'Reilly Emerging Technology conference (ETech for short) to exchange ideas about tools of the future. Roxanne Khamsi reports back.

The American Chemical Society is the world's largest scientific society, and its meetings are just as massive. This week, 17,000 chemists have converged in palm-tree-studded San Diego, California. Emma Marris braves the crowd to dish the dirt on all things chemical.

Join Michael Hopkin at the American Association for the Advancement of Science's yearly jamboree, where members of the world's biggest science society tackle weighty (and not-so-weighty) matters in the worlds of science, technology and medicine.

The UK government and meteorological office are together hosting a conference to discuss "dangerous" climate change. Nicola Jones reports back from the met office headquarters in Exeter.

The World Conference on Disaster Reduction, hosted by the United Nations in Kobe, Japan, from 18-22 January, comes at a good time: in the wake of December's tsunami, researchers and policy makers are both keen to do as much as possible to reduce the death count from future disasters. David Cyranoski reports back from the conference.

This week, the American Astronomical Society brings together some 2,500 astronomers from around the world to discuss the latest discoveries from the depths of space. From 9-13 January, Mark Peplow reports back from San Diego on black holes, quasars, and the quest to see back in time to the very beginnings of our Universe.

In the aftermath of one of the deadliest natural disasters in decades, Quirin Schiermeier travels to Sri Lanka with a team of scientists to see how the area was affected. He reports back with details of their investigations, and impressions of life today in one of the countries hit hardest by the wave.

Kerry blasts Bush over stem cells; Bush slams Kerry on his plans for nuclear waste. The presidential race is a fierce one, and news@nature.com's US reporters are watching events unfold.

Thousands of neuroscientists are converging on San Diego this week to trade insights on what makes the brain tick, how to find out, and how to make it better. Jim Giles reports back from the Society for Neuroscience's 34th annual meeting, where organizers are expecting some 36,000 attendees.

Doctors are testing the boundaries of medicine in order to help more people have babies. Helen Pearson explores the fertile ground at the American Society of Reproductive Medicine meeting in Philadelphia.

Organised by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Space 2004 brings together about 1000 scientists, engineers, military top brass and NASA bigwigs to discuss how to go further, faster and more frequently into space. While grounded in San Diego, California, the delegates roam the heavens from the dark side of the Moon to Europa's icy oceans. Between 29 September and 31 September, Mark Peplow sends back postcards from the edge of space.

Do clinical trials actually benefit the volunteers who take part? Is scientific research used as a tool by political spin doctors? And just how impossibly glamorous is the life of a science journalist? All of these questions and more will be posed at the BA Festival of Science, an annual fixture in the British scientific calendar that features exhibitions, lectures and public debates, and aims to engage the public with science. In the week of 6 September, Michael Hopkin brings you updates on the biggest talking-points from Exeter, UK.

The biennial international AIDS conference is a scientific gathering, a chance for politicians to network and an activists? rally all rolled into one. This year, 15,000 people from 160 countries have headed to Bangkok, Thailand, from 11 July to 16 July to discuss the scientific, economic, political and social dimensions of the global AIDS epidemic. Erika Check brings you daily conference news, plus gossip and behind-the-scenes coverage.