This contribution is the first of a sequence of reports on the recent developments in the field of the so-called "biomaterials", which, of course, are not at all "bio" or living materials but, rather, replace those living materials which have ceased to serve their purpose.
The science of biomaterials can be regarded as another prototype of the many interdisciplinary fields of research which have emerged during the last decades. It gained general recognition about the mid nineteen seventies as evidenced by the foundation of societies for biomaterials or similar organizations in most of the industrialized nations of the world. In 1980 the European Society for Biomaterials organized the 1st World Congress on Biomaterials in Vienna, Austria, while the 3rd World Biomaterials Congress in Kyoto, Japan, in April 1988 attracted more than 1000 participants. The 4th Congress of this type will again be organized by the European Society and is scheduled for 1992 in Berlin. Besides these world congresses, individual biomaterials societies organize meetings in their own particular areas. The next US conference will be held in Orlando, Florida towards the end of April 1989, and the 8th European Conference on [