As a junior doctor, Barry Marshall was so sure the medical establishment was wrong about the cause of stomach ulcers that he swallowed the bacteria he believed were to blame. It still took years to convince everyone – but it was to win him a share in a Nobel prize. Alison George asked him how he did it
What made you decide to swallow the bacteria?
It was so frustrating to see ulcer patients having surgery, or even dying, when I knew a simple antibiotic treatment could fix the problem. Back in 1984, conventional medical wisdom was that ulcers were caused…
