The 4th Euro-Mediterranean Conference of Natural Products and Drug Discovery: Back to Mother Nature (BioNat-IV), Cairo/Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, March 3–7, 2015

The 4th Euro-Mediterranean Conference of Natural Products and Drug Discovery: Back to Mother Nature (BioNat-IV) was recently (from March 3rd through 7th, 2015) convened in Cairo and Sharm El-Sheikh along the Red Sea coast of Egypt. Overall, the meeting provided a platform for scientists from different nations to discuss emerging ideas that focused on cell signaling in cancer; the pathogenesis of autoimmune diseases; the identification and use of natural products as well as novel drug delivery approaches for the treatment of cancer, arthritis, diabetes, tuberculosis, fungal infection, etc.; and untapped or unconventional sources for natural products. This fourth in a row conference tried to bridge the gap not only between basic research and clinical applications, but also between developed nations and developing countries. With the continuing success of these past meetings, the fifth Euro-Mediterranean Conference of Natural Products and Drug Discovery (BioNat-V) is slated to be in February 2017.