Barry James Marshall is an Australian Nobel
Prize winner in Physiology or Medicine. He is currently Professor of Clinical
Microbiology at the University of Western Australia. By far his most famous
achievement – which in part contributed to him being made a Nobel laureate –
was to demonstrate that a bacterium known as Helicobacter pylori is the cause
of the majority of peptic ulcers. This discovery reversed years of medical doctrine
which assumed that peptic ulcers were caused by too much acid, hence the
popularity of antacid medications. Leading up to the discovery, the hypothesis
had been largely ridiculed by the medical fraternity. The incredible thing
about the discovery, however, is that Marshall intentionally infected himself
with the bacterium to demonstrate its effects.
QUESTION:
Prior to Marshall's discovery, there was no real theory regarding the cause of peptic ulcers; their cause was a mystery to scientists.