If it is terrifying to think that life may be at the mercy of the multiplication of infinitesimally small creatures, it is also consoling to hope that science will not always remain powerless before such enemies. . . . All is dark, obscure and open to dispute when the cause of the phenomena is not known; all is light when it is grasped.

Louis Pasteur (1822-1895)

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With the view that Louis Pasteur’s “germ theory of disease” should be revived regarding non-communicable diseases, and inspired by the Standard Model of particle physics, I propose a Standard Model of medicine:

The deterministic cause of all physical and psychiatric diseases is microorganisms, except for some already known genetically determined disorders, prions, physical injuries, harmful chemical substances, and radiation, as long as the body’s metabolic needs are met. The expression of disease is the result of the interaction between the microorganisms, the immune system, and the tissues involved. Susceptibility to disease may be increased as a result of genetic predisposition of the immune system, or manipulation of the immune system by infections.