Conference report: the conference on small molecule science

The Conference on Small Molecule Science (CoSMoS), organized by the Society for Small Molecule Science (a 501(c)(3) nonprofit chartered organization), was held in Portland, Oregon, USA, on the 27-29 September 2010. The meeting is focused on analytical scientists, from varied scientific and industrial backgrounds, to foster practical 'how to' discussions. CoSMoS organizes highly interactive workshop environments, where in addition to presentations of a unique topical value, a discussion of what has been tried and didn't work, including reasons why, is an instructive part of the proceedings. The conference included six plenary sessions and five workshop sessions. This year CoSMoS was jointly hosted with the 'small molecule' NMR spectroscopy meeting, SMASH, and the program for the final day represented a combination of topics spanning the two interdisciplinary groups.