The 2010 Mutagenesis Gordon Research Conference will focus on mechanisms of mutagenesis, considering in molecular detail how mutations occur, how conserved pathways promote repair, and how mutagenesis contributes to both common and rare human diseases. Session topics will include: Consequences of Oxidative and Environmental Stress; Hereditable Repair Defects and Human Disease; Regulated Mutagenesis; Epigenetics and Mutagenesis; Mutational Hotspots and Rare Diseases; DNA Damage, Cancer and Aging; Polymerase Infidelity and Cancer; and Exploiting Mutagenesis for Therapy. The meeting will enhance our understanding of how specific genomic sites and regions may be hotspots for mutagenesis, and consider in molecular detail how mutagenic lesions occur, how conserved pathways promote repair, and the consequences of mutagenesis for human diseases including cancer, neurodegeneration, premature aging and a host of inherited rare human diseases. The emphasis on human health reflects not only the increasing congruence of basic science and human biology, but also the growing awareness of the mutagenesis community that discoveries in our field have the potential for immediate impact on diagnosis and treatment of human disease. The meeting will bring together a diverse group of leading investigators with very broad interests and approaches, in an environment that promotes presentation of new ideas, active discussion, and development of collaborations. Each session will include one or two short talks by graduate students or postdocs, selected based upon abstracts submitted upon registration for the meeting. The meeting site, Colby College in Waterville, Maine, provides a setting conducive to informal interactions among all participants.