In relation to other conferences that I have attended, the annual American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) conference is akin to the Oscars. The science world's greatest notables from an array of disciplines join to elevate science and advance society.

Notables include the cofounder of Google, the guys from the MythBusters, Ira Flatow from NPR's Science Friday, and the presidents of every scientific acronym imaginable. One of those acronyms was TWAS (Third World Academy of Sciences) which is the academy of sciences for the developing world, whose executive director is Dr. Mohamed Hassan. Dr. Hassan is a native of Sudan, my homeland, so I enjoyed giving him the traditional Sudanese greeting and chatting with him in Sudanese colloquial Arabic. Personally, the highlight of the trip was listening to Dr. Hassan speak about the science and technology innovations throughout the world. The United States current monopoly on research and development has lead scientists from developing countries to leave their respective countries to seek America's plentiful resources. Dr. Hassan highlighted the brain drain phenomena that is affecting Africa, the Middle East and the rest of Asia. The complexity of the disparity is seated on the developing world's poor socioeconomic situation and infrastructure. With government's investment in armaments far exceeding their contributions science, and corruption, makes the plight of foreign scientists even greater. Such realities should put the grumbling of US investigators worrying about their budgetary squeeze to rest. Fortunately, there are some examples of self-sustainable institutions in the developing world. Countries such as China, Kenya, and India serve as models of how the right foundation can lead to scientific excellence.

The international presence was very strong, poster presenters came from as far as Italy, the Koreas, New Zealand and then there was yours truly presenting the work I had performed in Adelaide, South Australia on the autonomic regulation of blood flow. However the greatest insight into neural circuits and the body's behavioral response to the elements came from Dr. Robert Sapolsky who is the professor of Neurology and Neurological sciences at Stanford University. His topical lecture on stress, health, and coping stressed a stress-free and serene lifestyle. To paraphrase, we should be nervous about sympathetic regulation of parasympathetic modalities.

By far, the conferences hottest topic was global warming. Various symposiums, lectures, and workshops assessed the physical science of climate change and to what degree (Celsius or Fahrenheit) current findings can legitimize environmental policy. This lead to AAAS board releasing a new statement on climate change, this statement can be found online (http://www.aaas.org/climate/). Not to make light of the situation but it seems the social climate is coming around (high precipitation to 75% sunshine) with a greater appreciation for the observable threats to our planet's ecosystem.

In conclusion, I could not have asked for better weather to be in San Francisco.

Mohammed Abdelwahab, BRAVO! participant, Dr. Judy Morris's lab, Flinders University, Adelaide, Australia