NOT YOUR AVERAGE AUSSIES
In Hey, true blue (AG 121), we asked
you to tell us about your heritage. We
received many fascinating stories and
here we publish a small selection.My family and I are foundation
members, having been subscribers
since AG’s fi rst edition in 1986. A
passion for Australia was passed on
from my parents to me, and now from
my wife and me to my children. I
believe Australia’s cultural diversity
is one of our greatest strengths. I am
a 46-year-old white male who was
born in Victoria. My father is
Australian, my mother Danish.
Japanese was my fi rst language
because we lived in Japan during my
early childhood, Danish was my
second and English my third.
I have lived in Europe, North
America, Asia and the Middle East,
and speak passable Danish, Spanish,
Arabic and German. My wife is from
the Philippines and our children are
US citizens. Throughout I have
remained proudly Australian while
appreciating the global and cultural
infl uences on my life. Twenty years
ago this story would have been highly
irregular; today it’s increasingly
representative of the new fair-dinkum
Aussie. Keep up the good work.
IAN DAVIES, BRISBANE, QLDDon’t know or care where anyone
comes from or how long they’ve been
here. If you love this beautiful
country and contribute to it in some
way, you’re an Aussie to me.
BARBARA O’KEEFE,
VIA FACEBOOK
GETTY Continued page 122WITH DR KARL KRUSZELNICKIW
HEN I WENT through
medical school in the
1980s, I was wrongly,
though inadvertently, taught that
stomach ulcers were caused by
excess acid production – from
‘hurry, curry and worry’. But then
two Australian doctors came up
with the correct finding, which
is that most stomach ulcers are
caused by a bacterium. This won
them the 2005 Nobel Prize in
Physiology or Medicine.
An ulcer is simply a break in
the lining of a surface. The acids
in the stomach can dissolve
anything from meat to iron nails,
but your stomach doesn’t dissolve
itself because a protective layer
of mucus covers its inner surface,
preventing the acid from touching
the naked meaty substance
of the stomach.
Professors Barry Marshall and
Robin Warren discovered that the
vast majority of stomach ulcers
are caused by a bacterium called
Helicobacter pylori. It seems to be the
only bacterium that can survive in
the acid of the stomach. Squirming
through the layer of mucus on
the inside of the stomach, it then
sticks to the epithelium, the
stomach lining. It manufactures
an enzyme (urease), which creates
a tiny local alkaline environment
around each individual bacterium.
This alkali effectively neutralises
the acid so the Helicobacter can live
in comfort.
This is such a clever trick that,
even up to the 1970s, scientists
couldn’t believe that bacteria
would survive in the incredibly
acid stomach. Unfortunately,
Helicobacter is an ungrateful guest. It
damages the epithelial cells liningyour stomach (and duodenum) by
several mechanisms. It produces
various chemicals, which can
split the junctions between
these epithelial cells, trigger ‘cell
suicide’ and set off inflammation.
The inflammatory response, in
turn, disturbs local hormone
production, which can cause
further damage in the stomach
and the duodenum. Even worse,
some of these chemicals are
potential carcinogens. If you carry
Helicobacter pylori you have a 10–20
per cent lifetime risk of developing
stomach ulcers and a 1–2 per cent
chance of stomach cancer.DR KARL is a prolifi c broadcaster,
author and University of Sydney physicist.
His 34th book, Game of Knowns, is
published by Pan Macmillan. Follow him
on Twitter at: twitter.com/DoctorKarlSTOMACH ULCERS
Discoveries
Ghastly guests. Illustration of
Helicobacter pylori bacteria (upper
left) in the lining of a human stomach.but your stomach doesn’t dissolveof mucus covers its inner surface,
preventing the acid from touching Ghastly guests. Illustration of
Helicobacter pyloriHelicobacter pyloriHelicobacter pylori bacteria (upper bacteria (upperYOUR AG
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