EMBnet.journal

Editorial

The articles published by the EMBnet.journal in this Supplement consist of an introductory article by the EMBnet Executive Board and abstracts of research works presented at the EMBnet Conference 2020 on “Bioinformatics Approaches to Precision Research”. The Conference was held on 23th-24th September 2020 using the web video conferencing platform Zoom and in conjunction with the EMBnet Annual General Meeting (AGM). Since more than 30 years ago, the EMBnet AGM is the occasion that all EMBnet members wait with great delight because of the pleasure of staying together physically in an enthusiastic and friendly atmosphere that is the driving force of our community. In 2020, the restrictions to move imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic prevented the organisation of the meeting in person. Nevertheless, as Executive Board, we thought that organising a conference where our members could share and discuss their research activities and scientific achievements was the best way to give them the possibility to enjoy still the pleasure of meeting each other and stimulating the cross-fertilisation of ideas and collaborations. The decision to collect in this Supplement of the EMBnet Journal the contributions presented at the Conference was taken to offer to researchers inside and outside EMBnet the opportunity to get an almost complete overview of the multifaceted research activities carried out by our community for potential future collaborations. Presentations spanned many cutting-edge topics of modern research, from new applications of Bioinformatics and Artificial Intelligence for the optimisation and automation of processes for sustainable farming activities to advanced approaches for the development of precision therapeutic approaches, to investigate mechanisms of epigenetic inheritance, to investigate how vegetables in the human diet can aid to keep health status and prevent many diseases.

Enjoy reading, and do not hesitate to contact us for any further information on the research works presented or to get the contacts of the related research teams.

Domenica D’Elia

Chair of the EMBnet Executive Board