Shape Matters: The Corkscrew Twist of H. Pylori Lets It Set Up Shop in the Stomach
Fred Hutchinson Cancer CenterThe bacterium Helicobacter pylori, which lives in the human stomach and is associated with ulcers and gastric cancer, is shaped like a corkscrew, or helix. For years researchers have hypothesized that the bacterium’s twisty shape is what enables it to survive – and thrive – within the stomach’s acid-drenched environment, but until now they have had no proof.