History of the Basel Institute for Immunology


Book Description

Lectures, Parties, and Nobel Prizes: living and researching at the Basel Institute for Immunology By the early seventies of the 20th century, the Basel Institute for Immunology had become one of the largest - and certainly the most prominent - immunology institutes in the world. Its lean structure was highly successful, and the quality of the research and its reputation remained outstandingly high throughout the three decades it existed. This book describes the institute's history from its conception and the laying of the foundation stone in 1969 by the pharmaceutical company Roche to the triumph of three Nobel Prizes (1984 and 1987) for Niels K. Jerne, Georges K�hler and Susumu Tonegawa. Can all this be portrayed to make the layman understand it and the scientist relish it? Indeed, the book succeeds in tuning in to what fascinates students, advanced researchers and scientists, historians, policy makers and philanthropists alike. The narrative reveals many aspects of the institute's life and also describes all its research and achievements. Immunologists at every level, from beginners to old hands, will find something of interest to them in this history, and some readers will even make use of the huge database (documents, pictures and films) linked to the book by hundreds of QR codes.




A History of Modern Immunology


Book Description

A History of Modern Immunology: A Path Toward Understanding describes, analyzes, and conceptualizes several seminal events and discoveries in immunology in the last third of the 20th century, the era when most questions about the biology of the immune system were raised and also found their answers. Written by an eyewitness to this history, the book gives insight into personal aspects of the important figures in the discipline, and its data driven emphasis on understanding will benefit both young and experienced scientists. This book provides a concise introduction to topics including immunological specificity, antibody diversity, monoclonal antibodies, major histocompatibility complex, antigen presentation, T cell biology, immunological tolerance, and autoimmune disease. This broad background of the discipline of immunology is a valuable companion for students of immunology, research and clinical immunologists, and research managers in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. - Contains the history of major breakthroughs in immunology featured with authenticity and insider details - Gives an insight into personal aspects of the players in the history of immunology - Enables the reader to recognize and select data of heuristic value which elucidate important facets of the immune system - Provides good examples and guidelines for the recognition and selection of what is important for the exploration of the immune system - Gives clear separation of descriptive and interpretive parts, allowing the reader to distinguish between facts and analysis provided by the author




A History of Immunology


Book Description

In this innovative, short, new textbook, Rod Langman offers a conceptual framework within which students can understand the evolution of the immune system. Evolutionary selection for resistance to infectious disease is shown to be the driving force that has shaped the immune system into a remarkably effective and efficient system of defense. In the midst of the current information explosion in immunological science, when many students are under the impression that the immune system is almost too complex to understand as a whole, The Immune System can be used alone as a text for an introductory course or used in conjunction with any of the several descriptive texts already on the market.




A Living History of Immunology


Book Description

In the highly competitive world of biomedical science, often the rush to publish and to be recognized as "first" with a new discovery, concept or method, is lost in the hurly-burly of the moment, as "the maddening crowd" moves on to the next "new thing". One of the great things about immunology today is that it has only become mature as a science within the last half-century, and especially within the past 35 years as a consequence of the revolution of molecular immunology, which has taken place only since 1980. Consequently, most of those who have contributed to our new understanding of how the immune system functions are still alive and well, and still contributing. Thus, "A Living History of Immunology" collates many stories from the investigators who actually performed the experiments that have established the frontiers of immunology. Accordingly, this volume combats "revisionist science", by those who want to alter history by telling the stories a different way than actually happened. In this regard, one of the good things about science vs. other disciplines is that we have the written record of what was done, when it was done and by whom. Even so, we do not have the complete story or narrative of how and why experiments were done, and what made the differences that led to success. This volume captures and chronicles some of these stories from the past fifty years in immunology.




The Origin and the Evolution of Firms


Book Description

The firms and markets of today's complex socio-economic system developed in a spontaneous process termed evolution, in just the same way as the universe, the solar system, the Earth and all that lives upon it. Darwin's theory of evolution clearly demonstrated that evolution involved increasing organization. As we began to explore the molecular basis of life and its evolution, it became equally clear that it depended on the processing and communication of information. This book develops a consistent theory of evolution in its wider sense, examining the information based laws and forces that drive it. Exploring subjects as diverse as economics and the theories of thermodynamics, the author revisits the paradox of the apparent conflict between the laws of thermodynamics and evolution to arrive at a systems theory, tracing a continuous line of evolving information sets that connect the Big-Bang to the firms and markets of our current socio-economic system.




A Place in History


Book Description

A Place in History: The Biography of John C. Kendrew is the story of the influential 20th century scientific pioneer and winner of the 1962 Nobel Prize in chemistry.




A History of Transplantation Immunology


Book Description

Those entering the field of transplantation are frequently unaware of the topics historical roots and even of the background on which modern discoveries in tolerance, histocompabatibility antigens, and xenotransplantation are based. A History of Transplantation Immunology is an account, written by one of the founding fathers of the field, of how tissue and organ transplantation has become one of the most successful branches of late 20th century medicine. The book helps place the work of contemporary scientists into its proper context and makes fascinating reading for immunologists in all stages of their career. - Describes landmarks in immunology and places them in historical context - Beautifully written by one of the founding fathers of the field - Portrays the surprising history of events in a colorful and readable manner - Contains biographical sketches of some of the pioneers - Illustrates the development of key ideas in immunology--tolerance, graft rejection, and transplantation - Foreword by Ray Owen




History of Allergy


Book Description

The prevalence of allergic diseases has increased dramatically over recent decades, both in terms of the number of sufferers and the number of allergies. This is a trend that has frequently been referred to as 'the epidemic of the 21st century'. As described in ancient texts, allergies have been known for over 2,000 years, but the term 'allergy' was only coined at the beginning of the 20th century when doctors began to understand their pathophysiological basis. This book presents a detailed and varied historical overview of the field of allergology. Beginning with insights on allergy from antiquity to the 20th century and the development of the associated terminology, it compiles historical reflections on the understanding of the most common allergic diseases. Important milestones in the discovery of mechanisms of allergy are described, followed by historical accounts of the detection of allergens such as pollen, dust mites, peanuts and latex, and of environmental influences such as pollution and the relationship between farmers and their environment. Several chapters illustrate the progress made in allergy management to date. Particular highlights of this book are the personal reflections of and interviews with a number of pioneers of allergy, including F. Austen, J. Bienenstock, K. Blaser, A. de Weck, A.W. Frankland, K. Ishizaka, and many more. Concluding with portrayals of allergy societies and collections, as well as being supplemented by two films, this book represents a veritable treasure trove of fascinating and richly illustrated information. Not only researchers, physicians and medical historians, but also students and even non-scientists will find History of Allergy a scientific adventure well worth reading.




Origin and Evolution of the Vertebrate Immune System


Book Description

The comparative approach to immunology can be traced to the era of Pasteur and Metchnikov in which observations regarding foreign recognition in invertebrates was a factor in the develop ment of the principal concepts that created the foundation of what now is the broad field of immunology. With each major experimental and conceptual breakthrough, the classical, albeit essential, question has been asked "are the immune systems of phylogenetically primitive vertebrates and invertebrates similar to that of mammals?" Somewhat surprisingly for the jawed verte brates, the general answer has been a qualified form of "yes", whereas for agnathans and invertebrate phyla it has been "no" so far. The apparent abruptness in the appearance of the immune system of vertebrates is linked to the introduction of the somatic generation of the diversity of its antigen specific receptors. Therefore the questions regarding the origin and evolution of the specific immune system revolve around this phenomenon. With respect to the origin of the system (aside from the or igin of the rearranging machinery itself, the study of which is still in its infancy) one can ask questions about the cellular and mo lecular contexts in which the mechanism was introduced.




The History of Oncology


Book Description

‘The story of oncology is not only fascinating but also contains many accounts of dead ends, chance discoveries, illusions, mistakes and disappointments alongside the few successes.’These words are taken from the introduction to this book. The author, professor emeritus of Medical Oncology, reviews all aspects of the problem of cancer from a historical perspective, from the oldest existing records to the latest scientific and medical advances. It will interest the many people engaged in the treatment of cancer to read how the current therapeutic methods came about, and the book may also provide inspiration for cancer researchers, and for all those directly or indirectly involved with cancer. The layman looking for background information on a particular treatment may find it useful too. The various chapters can be read independently. A glossary and a few explanatory diagrams augment the text.This book grew out of an invitation the author received to lecture on the history of oncology. During his background reading, he discovered that there was no single volume dealing with the entire history of the subject. Fortunately, however, a great deal of information could be found here and there in the literature. As he read, he was struck by the fascinating stories behind many discoveries, and felt impelled to put them together in a single comprehensive account. The results of his labors are presented in this remarkable volume.The author, Prof. D.J.Th. (Theo) Wagener, was head of the department of Medical Oncology at the Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre in the Netherlands from 1982 to 2001, chairman of the Educational Committee of the European Society of Medical Oncology (ESMO), a member of the Educational Committee of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) and a member of various international scientific working groups, mainly of the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC).