I'm now sitting in the train to Lindau. The whole trip will take 7 hours, almost the longest train ride I can take in Germany from my hometown Hannover. But most participants have traveled from much further away (from a total of 70 countries), whereas I don't need to bring a passport, dictionary or exchange money. When packing my suitcase last night I thought about what to take with me other than the usual stuff you carry to conferences. And please also read the Lindau survival guide by Jessica Riccò. (More)

Dear participants of the Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting. Please do not run away if one of these Seven holds a camera on you asking for an interview. They are young researchers and attendees who want to capture their experiences during this week in Lindau with the camera. We try to put online some „raw material“ they gathered on a daily basis. The final cut of their Lindau video diaries will follow at the end of the week. (More)

Like a chemotactic bacterium sensing its way towards a food source, I made my route to Lindau on Saturday. At Zurich station I met a Japanese post-doc who was also traveling from Cambridge and later in the journey we both met another researcher from New York, also heading to this year's Nobel Laureates Meeting. While we swopped details on our science backgrounds and hopes for the meeting, the scenery got prettier and the anticipation grew.

Not just because of the multiple train connections that we had to make, nor that we were heading for a tiny island that most people outside of Germany haven't heard of, but because we knew hundreds of others were also making this same trip, all with the same desire to meet some of their scientific heroes, this felt like a unique pilgrimmage. It's a journey to the heart of science where over the coming week some of the essence of what it means to be a scientist will be shared around liberally. (More)

For 60 years now the Bernadotte family holds their protecting hands over the Lindau Meeting of Nobel Laureates - unpretentious, with a very personal approach. In 1987 Count Lennart assigned the presidency of the Council board of trustees to his wife Sonja in a humorous speech. And he handed her over (More)

In 2008, 2009 and again this year, the Nature podcast and video team have attended the Lindau Nobel Laureates Meetings and produced several short films around them. I talked to Charlotte Stoddart who is the Director and Producer of the films, and Martin Freeth who works with the film crew every year as an Executive Producer and Director, about how they put together the films, as well as getting a sneak preview of the themes for the ones that we be recorded this year for the 60th anniversary celebrations.  (More)

I have spent an entire day traveling and toiling against the turning of the earth to get to Lindau. To pass the time on the plane over the Atlantic I read Albert Einstein's short book Relativity (the subtitles for this English version are the special and general theory or a clear explanation that anyone can understand). In Relativity Einstein shares his insights on his theory from a general scientific and philosophical point of view. He also does a lot of thought experiments with trains in scenarios such as, 'lightning has struck the rails on our railway embankment at two places A and B far distant from each other.' Presently I am on a train from Zurich to Lindau in the last phase of my journey so it is apt for me to consider the gedanken experiments he proposed that led to his insights. Though, I hope lightning doesn't hit the train, but it is highly unlikely because the weather here is wonderful here just outside Zurich.

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If you ever have the time to take a deeper look at the history of the Lindau Nobel Laureates Meeting, you will recognize that concerns for humans and the environment shape it. The openness of the scientific debates and solution seeking fosters the specific spirit of Lindau ever since the first meeting in 1951.

One idea behind the founding of the meetings was the desire for a restoration of the scientific bridges between people from different nations after the Second World War. These new bridges the Laureates used immediately, in order to put their concern for humanity and the environment on the agenda. (More)

My son has the Panini fever (1). Inevitable. It’s World Cup time. And I may predict which fever will catch many of the young researchers at Lindau soon--Autograph fever. It’s the Lindau Nobel Laureates Meeting. Some collect stickers, others signatures and some both. However, I’m pretty sure my son’s Panini book will sooner or later disappear in the garbage, whereas the signatures of the laureates will be kept in a shrine.  Just like the paintings by Laureates that I have gathered – look at the small Quiz at the end of this post.  (More)

Discoveries in science are rarely celebrated on the scale that great art is or major sporting achievements are.

Has Einstein’s famous equation E = mc² received the same amount of attention that the Mona Lisa on display in the Louvre in Paris has? Probably not. And yet, it has contributed a lot more to society. Some may argue that the attraction to science is not enough because it is harder to explain a scientific concept than to appreciate art. I disagree; there are many ways in which science can be made as accessible as art but more on that in another post. The applications that emerge from great science affect the lives of billions irrespective of their knowledge about it.

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Lindau at Lake Constance – a name that promises pure adventure. Yet before you, temerarious young researcher oder you, fearless journalist or you, wise Nobel Laureate travel to reach the Swabian countryside, you should consider the following five security references: (More)

And so the countdown begins...In just under two weeks, more than 60 Nobel Laureates and almost 700 young scientists will meet on the island of Lindau for the 60th Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting.

This year, even more than in previous years, it seems that the overarching theme is one of connection. This is most clearly shown in one of the key aims of the meetings to date: giving promising young scientists the opportunity to meet not only with their peers from around the world but also with Nobel Laureates – researchers who have achieved acknowledged greatness through their work. Making these new connections opens up the possibility of receiving that useful piece of advice that can inspire on the days when the experiments refuse to work, or that new friend who can suggest an opening or collaboration as a key next step up the scientific career pyramid. (More)

Cities, just like human beings, have character. The character is frequently defined by little things as well as big. For instance New York is The Big Apple, Paris the city of fashion, Sydney the city with the Opera House and Rio de Janeiro the carnival city. Small cities are also known for their own accomplishments. For instance, last year I visited the the little German city of Magdeburg which is known for Otto von Guericke, the man who established the physics of vacuums through a famous experiment involving horses. (More)

61 Nobel Laureates in Chemistry, Physics and Medicine will meet in Lindau from June 27th to July 2nd with 683 top-class young researchers from 70 countries. With this biggest Lindau Meeting ever, the conference will celebrate its 60th anniversary. We will attend the conference, report about the main topics, but also pick up unexpected issues and talk to as many participants as possible – so you might get a glimpse of the special Lindau atmosphere. (More)