The 11th International Symposium on Mutations in the Genome was held on 6-10 June, 2011, in Santorini, Greece. Meeting participants described novel detection technologies, rapid advances in whole genome and whole-exome sequencing, but also highlighted the urgent need for the development of sequence variation databases and the clinical interpretation of the genomic data. This report summarizes some of the major themes presented during the meeting. Hum Mutat 33:1497-1500, 2012. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.