Mystery: For years, it was thought that stomach ulcers were the result of high levels of stress and other lifestyle ailments. People suffering from stomach ulcers were being prescribed with anti-stress medicine, often requiring them to take them for the rest of their lives. Explanation: Two Australian scientists, Robin Warren and Barry Marshall, hypothesised that stomach ulcers are actually primarily caused by bacterial infections. Their findings were largely ignored, until Marshall drunk a culture of bacteria in order to purposefully contract the disease. He was then able to successfully cure himself using antibiotics, earning him a Nobel prize in 2005. The two scientists proved that stomach ulcers are far from a long-term problem, easily cured with a short-term course of drugs.
