This paper reports on the 5(th) joint British Society for Proteome Research (BSPR) and European Bioinformatics Institute (EBI) meeting which took place at the Wellcome Trust Conference Centre, Cambridge, UK, from the 8(th) to 10(th) July, 2008. As in previous years, the meeting attracted leading experts in the field who presented the latest cutting edge in proteomics. The meeting was entitled "Proteomics: From Technology to New Biology" taking into account the major transition proteomics has undergone in the past few years. In particular, the use of multiple reaction monitoring (MRM)-based targeted experiments for absolute quantification and validation of proteins was the hot topic of the meeting. Attended by some 250 delegates, the conference was extremely well organised and provided a great opportunity for discussion and initiation of new collaborations.