Major themes include the bioactive compounds found in soy, approaches to pest and disease resistance, genetic and genomic research, novel approaches for yield enhancement, the physiology and biochemistry of soy, nutritional and health issues relating to soybean, new trends for improving the quality of soybean products, such as soy bran and livestock feeds, new approaches to analysing the properties of soy such as by liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry, and the molecular aspects of breeding soybean for increased resistance and improved nutrition.