Internationalizing biochemistry: the 1949 congress in context**The 1949 congress – 50 years on This year marks the 50th anniversary of the First International Congress of Biochemistry that was held in Cambridge (UK) in 1949. It was during this First Congress that plans for creating the International Union of Biochemistry (IUB) were made, which was eventually founded in 1955. Every three years, the IUB sponsors an International Congress of Biochemistry and 17 have been held to date, including the 15th Congress in Jerusalem in 1991, during which the current name, International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (IUBMB), was adopted. In 2000, the Congress will return to the UK again, for the first time since the landmark congress in Cambridge. The 18th International Congress of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology is to be held on 16–20 July 2000 in Birmingham (http://www.iubmb2000.org). This Congress is historic as it marks the new millennium and it is the first joint major international meeting of the IUBMB and the Federation of European Biochemical Societies (FEBS). In recognition of its timing, the IUBMB/FEBS 2000 Congress has a central theme: ‘Beyond the Genome: Understanding and Exploiting Molecules and Cells in the Third Millennium’. Key disciplines related to genome studies, including bioinformatics and comparative genomics, will be interwoven with topics spanning the major areas of biochemistry and molecular biology. In addition to an exciting scientific programme for research scientists from academic institutions and industry around the world, the Congress will have a major programme of evening public-awareness sessions as well as special ‘focus sessions’ on education and techniques, aimed at young scientists