Superoxide production by phagocytic leukocytes: the scientific legacy of Bernard Babior.

It was 32 years ago that Bernard Babior, Ruby Kipnes, and I submitted a paper to the JCI reporting that polymorphonuclear leukocytes produce superoxide (O(2) (-)) during phagocytosis and that this highly reactive oxygen radical might function as a microbicidal agent. The story of how our lab came to this discovery is one of a special relationship between a student and his brilliant mentor.