The Winter Meeting 2000 of the British Pharmacological Society at Cambridge University provided the usual high attendance. This was reflected in the approximately 300 poster and oral communications presented during the course of the 3 days, with a high number contributed by the host institution. The conference comprised three symposia including 'Pharmacology for the next millennium' chaired by Professor Alan Cuthbert, recently retired Head of the Department of Pharmacology in Cambridge. This symposium attracted a prestigious array of internationally renowned speakers, with new information relating to the H3 histamine receptor which has a growing list of potential therapeutic indications. New information regarding screening methodologies, therapeutics for analgesia, schizophrenia and Alzheimer's disease were also reported.