Text structure: science 4

Bold Barry

1. Would you swallow a drink made from harmful bacteria? Dr. Barry Marshall did, and it helped him win a major award—the prestigious Nobel Prize.
2. Here’s the backstory:
3. In medical school, Dr. Marshall became interested in the research of Dr. Robin Warren. Dr. Warren treated a lot of patients with ulcers. An ulcer is a break in the lining of the stomach. Ulcers can be painful and sometimes very harmful. Dr. Warren discovered that many of his patients with ulcers also had bacteria in their stomachs. This was a new idea. Doctors from the time did not think that any living thing could possibly survive in the stomach’s harsh acid.
4. Dr. Marshall wanted to learn more, so he joined Dr. Warren in his research. The two doctors discovered that the bacteria called H. pylori caused most ulcers. In the past, doctors thought that spicy foods and stress caused ulcers. Since ulcers are caused by bacteria, Dr. Marshall thought they could be treated with antibiotic medicine. Other doctors thought he was foolish. After all, most doctors still believed that bacteria couldn’t survive in stomach acid.
5. To prove his theory, Marshall decided to conduct an experiment on himself. He drank a mixture made with the harmful bacteria. As a result, he got sick. Tests showed that he developed an infection and ulcers from the bacteria. Marshall then took antibiotics and was cured!
6. Marshall and Warren won the Nobel Prize in 2005 for their discovery.