Sure, the beautiful surroundings of Lake Constance are both blissful and stimulating. But what really defines the annual meeting of Nobel laureates on the German island of Lindau is the interaction between the 600-or-so young researchers and the score of Nobel laureates. The respected elders of the meeting mingle freely with the students — and laureates and students appear equally inspired by each other. It is this interaction that we aim to capture in this Nature Outlook.

Students sat next to laureates as they listened to a series of presentations that ranged from personal recollection, to scientific discourse, to advice on career development. Laureate Elizabeth Blackburn opened the lecture series in 2011 with an ebullient talk about her Nobel-winning research into telomeres. These protective chromosomal end caps are still yielding secrets (page S13).

The soul of the Lindau meetings is in the casual yet formative interactions among all the scientists. This year there was a new format: the masterclass, in which a laureate picks a handful of young researchers to present their work in front of a large audience. In our report, we describe how Aaron Ciechanover guided and engaged his students in a provocative discussion that challenged everyone present to broaden their thoughts (page S19).

We have a series of Q&As with some of the laureates who attended the meeting this year (pages S2 to S12) with some questions posed by young scientists at lindau.nature.com.

The United States was the sponsoring country this year, and we acknowledge that support by examining the promise and perils of US attempts to turn research into knowledge, drugs and devices that promote patient care and health (page S16) — topics that were enthusiastically discussed at Lindau.

We are pleased to acknowledge the financial support of Mars, Incorporated and Porsche in producing this Outlook. As always, Nature retains sole responsibility for all editorial content.