A field of inquiry may be said to have come of age when conclusions initially viewed as
remarkable or even unbelievable are accepted as commonplace. Study of the biology of the
superoxide anion radical and of related free radicals, and the defenses thereto, has now
reached this happy state of maturity. Superoxide and even hydroxyl radicals are now known
to be produced in living systems, and elaborate systems of defense and repair, which
minimize the ravages of these reactive species, have been described. New members of the …