How Barry Marshall Proved Bacteria Cause Ulcers
Dr. Kumar’s Take:
Barry Marshall’s Nobel Lecture is one of the most striking stories in modern medicine. He and Robin Warren challenged decades of dogma by showing that Helicobacter pylori infection, not just acid or stress, was the true cause of most peptic ulcers. Marshall even went so far as to drink a culture of the bacteria himself, developing gastritis to prove his case. This bold experiment, combined with clinical trials, changed ulcer care from life-long acid suppression and surgery to simple antibiotic treatment. For readers, the lesson is that sometimes the greatest discoveries come from questioning what “everyone already knows.”