Immunity: How Elie Metchnikoff Changed the Course of Modern Medicine

In 1882, zoologist Elie Metchnikoff was observing primitive single-cell sea creatures when he had a thought: Could certain aggressive cells in the human body have evolved from these ancient predatory cells? Could the modern body's healing powers be related to a billion-year-old feeding mechanism? He placed a thorn in a starfish and waited. Sure enough, cells released from the starfish began engulfing and trying to "eat" the thorn. In that moment, Metchnikoff became the first immunologist. Science journalist Vikhanski (A Well-Informed Patient's Guide to Breast Surgery; In Search of the Lost Cord: Solving the Mystery of Spinal Cord Regeneration) wrings a suspenseful tale out of the life of this passionate Russian, who saw hundreds of millions of years of evolution in a drop of seawater. The writing is by turns eloquent and exuberant, as she details both the skepticism over and the wonder inspired by the evolving science. Once forgotten, Metchnikoff's work is being revived, now seen as describing one of the immune system's two key arms: the "innate" arm.