Crystal‐ball gazing − the future of immunological research viewed from the cutting edge
The concept of gazing into crystal balls to view the future is not something immunologists are particularly prone to do; it is better left to psychics, quacks and astrologers. We are more likely to spend our time looking back, scouring the literature for precedents or clues to explain our latest findings. Yet the 50th Anniversary of the British Society for Immunology (BSI) offers an opportunity to both reflect and look forward. As a means of achieving this we asked leading immunologists, each of whom made their mark in this field in the preceding half-century, to speculate on what the next 10, 20 or 50 years might hold. As you will read for yourself, their attempts at clairvoyance provoke considerable thought and controversy. 
 
I had engaged in some ball-gazing myself, but in my case I tried to predict what our sages and seers might write. Vaccines and regulatory T cells were high on my list as key elements of the future, although it was hard to be sure precisely how the arguments would fall out. In the end, there is consensus that vaccines, one of the success stories of the past, will continue to unlock cures to disease in the future. On the other hand, regulatory T cells feature as both a benign and malign influence. Well, at least that means that one of our clairvoyants will be right! There seems to be consensus that new technologies and the application of non-immunological modalities, such as systems biology, will emerge as being important to our future. The importance of engagement of the non-scientific community in what we do is also emphasized as a key to future success. There is even some ‘immunosophical’ discussion of disease mechanisms that may enhance such dialogue. Finally, and somewhat disappointingly for me at least, none of our oracles described the immunological equivalent of ‘you will meet a tall dark stranger’ −but surely there will be some surprises in the next 50 years? 
 
MARK PEAKMAN Editor-in-Chief Clinical and Experimental Immunology