Sir

Your leading article on postdocs' dissatisfaction with the conference circuit will strike a chord at all levels in the scientific community (Nature 392, 211; 1998). It is not just a problem of competitiveness but rather one of same faces, same stories. The solution is simple — no invited lectures and an intensive programme of 15-minute presentations by the postdocs and postgrads who are doing the experiments. The UK Molecular Microbial Ecology Group is holding its 4th Annual Meeting at the University of Warwick and yet again the scientific programme is a delight.