(1854-1917) German physician who discovered that the body produces antitoxins, substances able to counteract poisons released by bacteria. Using this knowledge, he developed new treatments for such diseases as diphtheria. He won the first Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine, in 1901.
Behring discovered the diphtheria antitoxin and developed serum therapy together with Japanese bacteriologist Shibasaburo Kitasato, and they went on to apply the technique to tetanus. Behring also introduced early vaccination techniques against diphtheria and tuberculosis.
Behring was born in Prussia and educated in Berlin, where he was bacteriologist Robert Koch's assistant before becoming professor of hygiene at Halle and Marburg.
Investigating the problem of tuberculosis, Behring recognized that the bovine and human forms of the disease were caused by the same microorganism, thus identifying the danger to humans of drinking contaminated milk.