From 18–21 May 2024, Nature Reviews Gastroenterology & Hepatology was back at Digestive Disease Week (DDW) in Washington DC, USA, alongside >14,300 attendees both in person and virtually, according to the organizers.

A wide array of sessions were available, covering basic, translational and clinical science in gastroenterology and hepatology. For basic and translational sciences, talks on the gut microbiome were popular and plentiful, including sessions on the links between the exposome and microbiome, and one dedicated to the ‘dark matter’ of the gut microbiome, bacteriophages and fungi. Clinical sessions addressed topics such as ‘IBS in IBD’ and new approaches in colorectal cancer screening (including insights into the use of artificial intelligence and novel blood- and stool-based tests). The clinical late-breaker session featured positive interim phase II results for survodutide in metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis and efficacy for apraglutide in short bowel syndrome with intestinal failure reported in the phase III STARS trial, among others.