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On the shoulders of giants
Microbes and Infection 4 (2002) 183 www.elsevier.com/locate/micinf
Foreword by the Editor-in-Chief
On the shoulders of giants “If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants”. This was stated by Isaac Newton, one of the heroes of life sciences of the 17th century, in a letter to Robert Hooke. Undoubtedly, this statement still holds true, and we, scientists interested in microbes and infection, are well reminded to think of this phrase. The beginnings of medical microbiology and immunology date back approximately 150 years to the time when two giants established these disciplines, namely Louis Pasteur in Paris and Robert Koch in Berlin. They were not only the founders of the Golden Age of medical microbiology, but were also excellent mentors who attracted young scientists to the fields and promoted their careers. It was with this background that Emil Behring and Shibasaburo Kitasato came to develop the concept of passive vaccination against bacterial toxins, Elie Metchnikoff developed the concept of phagocytes as a major host defense mechanism against bacterial invaders, and Jules Bordet developed the concept of complementmediated lysis of bacteria. Although these scientists were interested in the interface between microbiology and immunology, they still focused on infectious agents. Paul Ehrlich took this a step further, and by developing the side chain theory, was perhaps the first to broaden the scope of immunology. Despite this, he never abandoned his interest in pathogens, and developed the concept of chemotherapeutic treatment in parallel. The fact that most of these scientists were honored by the Nobel Prize speaks for itself. The first-ever Nobel Prize for physiology and medicine was awarded to Emil von Behring in 1901, Robert Koch was the laureate in 1905, Paul Ehrlich and Elie Metchnikoff shared the 1908 prize, while Jules Bordet received the prize in 1919. Louis Pasteur died in 1895, well before the establishment of the Nobel Prize in 1901. In retrospect, the impact of the new discipline of medical microbiology and immunology can also be seen in
© 2002 Éditions scientifiques et médicales Elsevier SAS. All rights reserved. PII: S 1 2 8 6 - 4 5 7 9 ( 0 1 ) 0 1 5 3 5 - 0
its rapid spread throughout the world. Shibasaburo Kitasato, after returning to Japan, implemented the discipline there, while Theobald Smith established it in the USA. He and the Englishman David Bruce, working in Africa, had independently identified insects as carriers of infectious agents and paved the way for Ronald Ross, decipherer of the life cycle of malaria, and for Carlos Chagas, director of the OswaldoCruz-Institute in Brazil, who discovered the etiologic agent of Chagas’ disease, Trypanosoma cruzi. In this age of technology we may be tempted to forget the early heroes and their achievements which laid the foundations of our discipline. The Editorial Board of Microbes and Infection therefore considered it valuable to reflect on these early masterpieces that have passed the Litmus test of time and proved to be crucial milestones in our field. In a series of historical articles, we will therefore attempt to remind current researchers who often do not cite work predating Medline citation indices, not to mention work published prior to their births, that we are who we are because we benefit from the discoveries made and concepts developed in the past. Even Sir Isaac Newton was not the first to realize this; before him, Bernard of Chartres used to say that “we are like dwarves on the shoulders of giants so that we can see more than them, and that things appear at a greater distance not by virtue of our sharpness of sight or physical distinction, but because we are carried high and raised up by their giant size”. We launch our new series with an article about the first Nobel Prize laureate in physiology and medicine, Emil von Behring, awarded the Nobel Prize in 1901, an event whose 100th anniversary was celebrated last year. Stefan H.E. Kaufmann Max-Planck-Institute for Infection Biology, Berlin, Germany
Foreword by the Editor-in-Chief
On the shoulders of giants “If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants”. This was stated by Isaac Newton, one of the heroes of life sciences of the 17th century, in a letter to Robert Hooke. Undoubtedly, this statement still holds true, and we, scientists interested in microbes and infection, are well reminded to think of this phrase. The beginnings of medical microbiology and immunology date back approximately 150 years to the time when two giants established these disciplines, namely Louis Pasteur in Paris and Robert Koch in Berlin. They were not only the founders of the Golden Age of medical microbiology, but were also excellent mentors who attracted young scientists to the fields and promoted their careers. It was with this background that Emil Behring and Shibasaburo Kitasato came to develop the concept of passive vaccination against bacterial toxins, Elie Metchnikoff developed the concept of phagocytes as a major host defense mechanism against bacterial invaders, and Jules Bordet developed the concept of complementmediated lysis of bacteria. Although these scientists were interested in the interface between microbiology and immunology, they still focused on infectious agents. Paul Ehrlich took this a step further, and by developing the side chain theory, was perhaps the first to broaden the scope of immunology. Despite this, he never abandoned his interest in pathogens, and developed the concept of chemotherapeutic treatment in parallel. The fact that most of these scientists were honored by the Nobel Prize speaks for itself. The first-ever Nobel Prize for physiology and medicine was awarded to Emil von Behring in 1901, Robert Koch was the laureate in 1905, Paul Ehrlich and Elie Metchnikoff shared the 1908 prize, while Jules Bordet received the prize in 1919. Louis Pasteur died in 1895, well before the establishment of the Nobel Prize in 1901. In retrospect, the impact of the new discipline of medical microbiology and immunology can also be seen in
© 2002 Éditions scientifiques et médicales Elsevier SAS. All rights reserved. PII: S 1 2 8 6 - 4 5 7 9 ( 0 1 ) 0 1 5 3 5 - 0
its rapid spread throughout the world. Shibasaburo Kitasato, after returning to Japan, implemented the discipline there, while Theobald Smith established it in the USA. He and the Englishman David Bruce, working in Africa, had independently identified insects as carriers of infectious agents and paved the way for Ronald Ross, decipherer of the life cycle of malaria, and for Carlos Chagas, director of the OswaldoCruz-Institute in Brazil, who discovered the etiologic agent of Chagas’ disease, Trypanosoma cruzi. In this age of technology we may be tempted to forget the early heroes and their achievements which laid the foundations of our discipline. The Editorial Board of Microbes and Infection therefore considered it valuable to reflect on these early masterpieces that have passed the Litmus test of time and proved to be crucial milestones in our field. In a series of historical articles, we will therefore attempt to remind current researchers who often do not cite work predating Medline citation indices, not to mention work published prior to their births, that we are who we are because we benefit from the discoveries made and concepts developed in the past. Even Sir Isaac Newton was not the first to realize this; before him, Bernard of Chartres used to say that “we are like dwarves on the shoulders of giants so that we can see more than them, and that things appear at a greater distance not by virtue of our sharpness of sight or physical distinction, but because we are carried high and raised up by their giant size”. We launch our new series with an article about the first Nobel Prize laureate in physiology and medicine, Emil von Behring, awarded the Nobel Prize in 1901, an event whose 100th anniversary was celebrated last year. Stefan H.E. Kaufmann Max-Planck-Institute for Infection Biology, Berlin, Germany