Advances in methodologies have played a major role in the dramatic progress in macromolecular crystallography over the past decade, both in terms of overall productivity and in the increasing complexity of the systems being successfully tackled.

The 2012 Gordon Research Conference on Diffraction Methods in Structural Biology will focus on the most recent developments in methodology, covering all aspects of the experiment from crystallization to data collection, processing and structure refinement and validation; the conference will also cover the progress in the development of the next generation of x-ray sources available for structural biology, as well as examples of the application of complementary methods and examples of structural highlights. Extensive discussion by all participants will be encouraged, both at the talk and poster sessions. As in past meetings, participants presenting posters will be eligible to give an oral presentation of their work in a dedicated session.

The relatively small size and informal and friendly atmosphere of the meeting provides an excellent opportunity for all participants, especially younger scientists, to meet and exchange ideas with leading methods developers.