75 Jahre Deutsche Gesellschaft für Lichtforschung

Abstract

Photobiology made a tremendous progress at the beginning of the 20 th century. This was due to heliotherapy as well as to the phototherapy of tuberculosis and the prevention of rickets by artificial light sources. The scientific intermingling and the clinical application need cooperation of the sciences and mutual inspiration. Therefore the „Deutsche Gesellschaft f;r Lichtforschung“ (DGfL) was founded 1927 in Hamburg by Prof. Hans Meyer, to bring together Medicine, Meteorology and Physics. The interdisciplinarity is one of the chracteristics of the DGfL and it is made to last. In the same time many connections with international associations are built up and installed to endure. Photobiology lost considerably in importance up to the middle of the century by reasons of therapeutical progress as well as by World War II. After this devasting period, new developments in photochemistry and in biophysics finally justified the reestablishment of the DGfL in 1953. The international congresses of photobiology, 1968 in New Hampshire/USA and in Bochum 1972 were characterized by new and important highlights, bringing together Medicine (Dermatology and Endocrinology), Epidemiology and Technology with the cellular and molecular Biology. In addition, Photoimmunology is in progess, since more than 10 years. These novel fields of photobiology, demanding even more interdisciplinary cooperation, will open very new horizons to the DGfL.