Since 1982 our ever-expanding group of investigators has been meeting in exotic parts of the
world to discuss aspects of three enzyme systems. The 1996 meeting was no exception. Nearly 90
scientists from 15 countries met in the small city of Deadwood South Dakota for four days of
stimulating talks and posters and incredible scenery. Once more this meeting reflected the
changing trends in biochemical research. At the 1982 meeting most of the speakers discussed
isolating new enzymes and trying to characterize them. At this meeting many speakers discussed
interpretations of three-dimensional struc ture or regulatory elements of the genes controlling
for the tissue-specific expression of the enzyme. Hopefully readers will find the proceedings
of the meeting to be of interest. Though they reflects the scientific information that was
presented at the meeting they do not indicate the level of personal interactions that went on
during the meeting. Once again the willingness of the participants to discuss unpublished data
and to share thoughts about the future directions of their research helped make this like our
previous seven meetings a special scientific experience for those who attended.
