The faces of Big Science.

Fifty years ago, academic science was a calling with few regulations or financial rewards. Today, it is a huge enterprise confronted by a plethora of bureaucratic and political controls. This change was not triggered by specific events or decisions but reflects the explosive 'knee' in the exponential growth that science has sustained during the past three-and-a-half centuries. Coming to terms with the demands and benefits of 'Big Science' is a major challenge for today's scientific generation. Since its foundation 50 years ago, the European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO) has been of invaluable help in meeting this challenge.