Copy number variation and genomic alterations in health and disease

The 1st GOLDEN HELIX Symposium on 'Copy number variation and genomic alterations in health and disease' was recently held in Athens, Greece, where some 160 participants from 31 countries were updated on recent developments in the field of molecular cytogenetics, copy number variation and the direction in which the technology of array-based comparative genomic hybridization (array-CGH) is evolving. The meeting was supported by ten corporate entities, five of which presented their technologies for array-CGH and/or software tools for downstream analysis as company lectures embedded in the scientific program. Here, we report some highlights of this meeting from a genomic perspective.The GOLDEN HELIX Symposia http://www.goldenhelixsymposia.org webcite are 2-3 day scientific meetings aiming to advance biomedical and life sciences by bringing together scientists within and across disciplines in the fields of human genomics and personalized medicine. This symposium series is named after the house of Francis Crick ('The Golden Helix'; 19/20 Portugal Place, Cambridge, UK) to emphasize their focus on human genomics and personalized medicine.Conference venues are usually major cities or summer retreats in the Southern Mediterranean or Middle East regions. The symposia aim to maximize information exchange and promote collaborative relationships between regional research institutes and research centers of excellence in the United States and Europe. Such information exchange and collaboration ties are strengthened by interactions between participants and lecturers, the latter being internationally renowned scientists, recognized leaders in their field. Selected minireviews from the topics discussed in the symposia will be published in special issues of Human Genomics and Proteomics http://www.sage-hindawi.com/journals/hgp webcite.Molecular cytogenetics aims to bridge the gap between classical cytogenetics and modern molecular biology. In general, this involves the use of a series