To B, or not to B: that is the question.

Irrespective of the prevailing fashion, Germinal Centre Conferences (GCC) have treated the immune system in a determinedly holistic manner. At the recent 10th GCC* the advantages of this approach were demonstrated in elegant new schema for lymphocyte development, accessory cell function, tolerance and autoimmunity, and for the organization and function of mucosal defence. This report concentrates on only one aspect of the meeting - the development of an integrated view of the natural history of B cells.