The 21st century has been widely proclaimed as the “century of the life sciences.” Their impact is expected to profoundly alter the way we live. Not only will the life sciences reshuffle the demographic and individual outlook of Western societies as they help us live longer and better, they also address the other big challenges of mankind – understanding the complexities and preserving the variety of life on our planet, climate change, famine, as well as ecological and safe energy resources. The first European Conference of Life Science Funders and Foundations on April 26–27 at EMBL Heidelberg, funded by the Schering Stiftung, will explore opportunities to positively influence and accelerate the necessary discoveries and their transformation into applications that benefit us all.