We have competition everywhere. Research is not an exception.
So we know who are doing similar researches as we do. And we are curious what they are doing. They will sure be interested what we are doing as well. In this case, it would be very interesting when we meet at a conference in May. Lots of cool people will be there, we will be able to see many posters, and of course, Arizona!
And yes. If it is a huge project, who made it first get to publish in the very best journal.