Neither the fear of SARS nor the current economic climate were able to prevent most mass spectrometrists from showing up at this week’s annual meeting of the American Society for Mass Spectrometry in Montreal.

By Tuesday, more than 4,800 participants had registered for five days of scientific lectures, workshops, daily posters, and product presentations. The flow and exchange of ideas stretched well into the evening, and was enhanced by the free flow of drinks at corporate hospitality suites.