Once upon a time there was a keen young researcher working in a rapidly developing field. After months of hard work he at last had something interesting to tell his peers. He registered for what looked like an excellent conference at which to present his results: international, supported by an international agency, many of the top people attending. Somewhat taken aback when he discovered the costs, nevertheless, eventually, he went. The accommodation was at a comfortable hotel, the meeting facilities excellent. He was appalled. The talks were mainly reviews or results whose publication was imminent anyway. He discovered that the field was too competitive to allow people to discuss their latest findings. All that money, and for what?

That was the experience of at least one postdoc who attended a European Research Conference on programmed cell death (apoptosis) last year. The costs of attendance at the three-day event, not including travel, amounted to DM1, 800 (about $900), despite financial support for the conference by the European Union.

Given what they perceive to be the poor value of what was delivered, and a more general trend in this direction, a group of postdoctoral researchers has now rebelled and organized a very different meeting at cheap rates in an Italian research institute. Thanks to sponsorship, the fee to those invited will be $25 — and participants will have to pay only travel expenses.

The topic will again be apoptosis, and the organizers promise to set an example by talking about their latest results (e-mail contact: delaurenz@utovrm.it). These are serious scientists, and the meeting promises to be stimulating.

This initiative represents a statement by a few postdoctoral researchers about the state of conferences in at least one fast-moving area of science. Is it the tip of an iceberg of dissatisfaction?