Dear colleagues:

On behalf of the TEMA Parent Committee and the local Organizing Committee, we are pleased to welcome you to the 13th International Meeting on Trace Elements in Man and Animals.

We have chosen as a theme "From the Andes to the World" highlighting the fact that the Andes mountains are a major site in planet Earth of accumulated iron, copper, zinc, manganese, tin, selenium, molybdenum among others. In fact, the very word Andes is thought to derive from the quechua (original language of the indigenous people of Peru ) word "ante", used by the Inca people to name copper. They "cultivated" rather than "mined" copper in the "anta-chakras" (copper fields) and left offerings to the gods as they collected the mineral for processing. The Andes span virtually all of the Americas from North to South and have served as back bone to unite the various people that inhabit this continent.

We look forward to an exiting scientific program that includes 6 conferences, 13 Symposia, 30 oral presentations and 118 Posters. Outstanding researchers will discuss the different aspects of trace elements from cellular metabolism and molecular biology in human, animal and plant sciences to the applications of this knowledge.

We invite you to enjoy the amazing volcanoes-and-lakes area and hope that during your stay you will have a chance to appreciate not only the science and the scenery but also the culture and the hospitality of our people.

Sincerely,

The Organizing Committee