British science mourns research great

Dr Cesar Milstein, one of the great post-war figures in British science, has died. He was 74.

The researcher, who was born in Argentina, won the Nobel Prize for Medicine in 1984 for his pioneering work on the immune system.

An outstanding contribution to Britain's science, health and wealth creation

Prof Sir George Radda, MRC

With Dr Georges Kohler, he found a way to make any required antibody in pure form, in the test tube.

Although these monoclonal antibodies, as they are termed, have not quite lived up to the hype that once dubbed them "magic bullets", they have nonetheless found wide usage in medicine - from treating cancer and transplant rejection to diagnosing Aids and pregnancy.

Dr Milstein died at Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge on Sunday. The cause of death was not announced.

'Sorely missed'

He will be remembered as key figure in the hothouse of scientific talent established in Cambridge at the Laboratory of Molecular Biology.

Monoclonal antibody: Can be made in the lab to hunt down and destroy diseased cells

The LMB, which has produced nine Nobel Laureates, is funded by the Medical Research Council (MRC). The chief executive of the MRC, Professor Sir George Radda, led the tributes to Dr Milstein.

He said: "The discovery of monoclonal antibodies revolutionised biomedical research and sparked an international billion-pound biotechnology industry.

"No other MRC scientist has made such an outstanding contribution to Britain's science, health and wealth creation. MRC awarded its first Millennium Medal to Cesar in 2000 in recognition of his ground-breaking work.

"He was an inspiration to many young scientists and will be sorely missed by friends and colleagues at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology and throughout the scientific world."

The Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge has produced nine Nobel Laureates

Drs Milstein and Kohler announced their breakthrough in 1975 in the journal Nature.

They had discovered a laboratory method for making antibodies - the highly varied but unique molecules the immune system uses to hunt down and destroy invaders - in large numbers and in pure form.

A reliable and productive source of these special molecules has allowed science to develop treatments and diagnostic tools that are very specific in the way they work.

Good cells, bad cells

For example, monoclonal antibodies designed to track down particular cancer cells can be tagged with a fluorescent dye. This allows a doctor to see easily and immediately the cause and location of a person's ill health.

Traditionally, most cancer drugs indiscriminately attack all rapidly growing tissues in the body, trying to kill more bad cells than good ones. But the newer drugs based on monoclonal antibodies attack only the bad cells.

They include the breast cancer drug Herceptin and Remicade, a rheumatoid arthritis medication.

Dr Milstein's death comes little more than a month after that of Max Perutz, another of the LMB's Nobel Laureates. Dr Kohler died in 1995 aged just 49.