Immunity: How Elie Metchnikoff Changed the Course of Modern Medicine

By Luba Vikhanski

Around Christmas of 1882, while peering through a microscope at starfish larvae in which he had inserted tiny thorns, Russian zoologist Elie Metchnikoff had a brilliant insight: what if the mobile cells he saw gathering around the thorns were the same as white blood cells that traveled to the site of an injury or infection in a human or other animal? Was this some form of cellular defense? Metchnikoff's theory of immunity, that phagocytes—white blood cells—formed the first line of defense against invading bacteria would eventually earn the scientist the unofficial moniker "Father of Natural Immunity" and a Nobel Prize. But first, he had to convince his colleagues, including the skeptical Robert Koch. Author Luba Vikhanski chronicles Metchnikoff's remarkable life, work, and discoveries in Immunity, the first modern biography of this hero of medicine. Metchnikoff was a towering figure in the scientific community of the early 20th century, a tireless humanitarian who worked to curb cholera, syphilis, and other  diseases, and pioneered research into probiotics and gerontology. Though Metchnikoff is largely forgotten today, Vikhanski makes a compelling case that his work on natural immunity is finally receiving the attention it deserves.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Chicago Review Press
• Release date: Apr 1, 2016
• ISBN: 9781613731123

Reviews for Immunity

[dokfintong · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A gem for the right readerDr. Elie Metchnikoff was a remarkable man at a remarkable period of history and Luba Vikhanski has done a good job of telling us his story. The controversy that his immune theory generated at the time is a little hard for us to understand today because we know that in large part his theory is correct. But it is also hard for us to understand that scientists and doctors were only just beginning to think that it might be possible to cure illness instead of just palliate the symptoms.Years ago I picked up Lewis Thomas's "The Youngest Science: Notes of a Medicine-Watcher" and in it Dr. Thomas, in his excellent prose, explained that until the discovery of sulfur and later penicillin and other antibiotics, the physician's job was to diagnose the illness and tell the patient the prognosis. Dr.Metchnikoff broke new theoretical ground 40 years before penicillin came into general use.Alas, as informative as this book is, it is not very exciting, and I don't think it will be of much interest to the general reader. But for fans of medical biography, it is a gem.Based on the ARC I must warn that the editing is weak. The text is too full of flowery turns as if it were written in Russian. The text mistakes typhus for typhoid and the argument about phages could be presented more clearly. I received a review copy of "Immunity: How Elie Metchnikoff Changed the Course of Modern Medicine" by Luba Vikhanski (Chicago Review) through NetGalley.com.