The future of conferences

The need for change One of the many great things about being a developmental biologist is our strong sense of community. Conferences of all shapes and sizes reinforce these bonds between us and yet, even before the pandemic, scientists were becoming increasingly reluctant to travel to conferences due to concerns about climate change: ‘Don’t think I will travel to conferences as delegate again. Cutting down as speaker a lot.’Prof. Michael Stumpf (@theosysbio). Twitter; December 2019.Younger scientists in particular expressed concerns about the environmental impact of their travel, but also worried about how not travelling might affect their career: ‘I know many senior scientists who are reducing attendance, but for someone like me without that recognition, how do I get my name out there without physically attending? Would love other options! ’Dr Louise Stephen (@ciliaNcilia). Twitter; December 2019