Beschreibung:
This is a vivid portrayal of the life and achievements of Georges Köhler, who at age 38 shared a 1984 Nobel Prize with N.K. Jerne and C. Milstein for inventing the technique that generates monoclonal antibodies. That same year, Köhler became a co-director of the Max-Planck-Institute for Immunobiology; his unfortunate death in 1995 cut short an extraordinary career. Written to commemorate the 10th anniversary of his passing, this scientific biography explains Köhler's pivotal discovery and its momentous influence on research, medicine and the biotech industry in a style understandable to the general public and discussed in the historical context of immunological research.
The time before.- A short history of the antibody problem.- The immunological scene around Köhler.- Köhler's entry into science.- The quest for monoclonal antibodies.- Cell fusion.- Köhler in Cambridge.- Back in Basel.- The patent disaster.- The time after.- The Max-Planck-Institute of Immunobiology.- Getting Köhler to Freiburg.- "Köhler's Max-Planck-Institute".- Human relations.- Post-Nobel science I.- Post-Nobel science II.- Köhler's death.- Magic bullet.- The antibody problem today - not quite solved.
Georges Köhler was one of the most prominent German scientists of recent history. In 1984, at an age of 38, he received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, together with N.K. Jerne and C. Milstein, for inventing the technique for generating monoclonal antibodies. This method and its subsequent applications had an enormous impact on basic research, medicine and the biotech industry. In the same year, Köhler became one of the directors of the Max-Planck-Institute of Immunobiology in Freiburg; his unfortunate premature death in 1995 set an end to his extraordinary career. Prof. Klaus Eichmann, who had invited Köhler to become his codirector, is one of the people who were closest to him.
This scientific biography commemorates the 10th anniversary of Köhler's untimely death. Köhler's scientific achievements are explained in a way to make them understandable for the general public and discussed in the historical context of immunological research.
