Contemporary concepts of immunological function.

Abstract

The science of Immunology, since its beginnings around the year 1900, has expanded to encyclopaedic dimensions and has had enjoyed two "golden ages," in the early 1900s and after the 1950s. By way of illustration, as many as 23 of the present total of 157 Nobel Laureates received their award for discoveries relevant to immunology, including the first in 1901 to Emil von Behring for the use of immune serum in the treatment of disease. The Nobel awards in Immunology will be used as theme points for the text of this lecture. In fact, this paper asks you to imagine a series of six lectures on Contemporary Concepts delivered at various times between 1900 and the present, specifically 1905, 1930, 1960, 1970, 1980 and today, May 1994.