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Doctors were certain stomach ulcers came from stress and spicy food. Barry Marshall thought a bacterium caused them, could not get anyone to listen, and swallowed a dish of it to prove his point. He became ill within days.

Barry Marshall (b. 1951)

HealthScience

Why it matters

The idea in context

In 1984, working in Perth with the pathologist Robin Warren, Marshall could not find an animal model and could not persuade the field. So he drank a broth of Helicobacter pylori. He developed gastritis, proved the bacterium colonised a healthy stomach, and treated himself with antibiotics. The implication was enormous: a disease affecting millions was curable with a short course of pills rather than managed for life. He and Warren received the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 2005.

Türkçe

Aynı kart, başka bir dilde.

Doktorlar mide ülserinin stres ve baharatlı yiyecekten geldiğinden emindi. Barry Marshall bir bakterinin neden olduğunu düşünüyordu, kimseye dinletemedi ve haklılığını kanıtlamak için bir kap dolusunu içti. Günler içinde hastalandı.
Barry Marshall (d. 1951)

1984'te Perth'te patolog Robin Warren ile çalışan Marshall, bir hayvan modeli bulamıyor ve alanı ikna edemiyordu. Bunun üzerine bir Helicobacter pylori suyu içti. Gastrit geliştirdi, bakterinin sağlıklı bir mideye yerleştiğini kanıtladı ve kendini antibiyotikle tedavi etti. Sonuç muazzamdı: Milyonları etkileyen bir hastalık, ömür boyu yönetilmek yerine kısa bir hap kürüyle tedavi edilebilirdi. O ve Warren 2005'te Nobel Tıp Ödülü'nü aldı.

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Background reading: Barry MarshallAttribution and context are revised when stronger evidence appears. Corrections are welcome through the editorial page.
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