César Milstein conducted one of the most important late twentieth century studies on antibodies. In 1984, Milstein received the Nobel Prize for physiology or medicine, shared with Niels K. Jerne and Georges Köhler, for his outstanding contributions to immunology and immunogenetics. Milstein's research on the structure of antibodies and their genes, through the investigation of DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) and ribonucleic acid (RNA), has been fundamental for a better understanding of how the human immune system works.

Milstein was born on October 8, 1927, in the eastern Argentine city of Bahía Blanca, one of three sons of Lázaro and Máxima Milstein. He studied biochemistry at the National University of Buenos Aires from 1945 to 1952, graduating with a degree in chemistry. Heavily involved in opposing the policies of President Juan Peron and working part-time as a chemical analyst for a laboratory, Milstein barely managed...