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WE HAVE known for a while there was something about the willow tree. Hippocrates, the 鈥渇ather of medicine鈥�, recommended chewing willow bark as a remedy for pain and fever in the 5th century BC, as well as drinking tea brewed with it to relieve pain in childbirth. In 1763, the clergyman Edward Stone from Chipping Norton, UK, wrote a letter to the president of the Royal Society describing his experiments, which showed that powdered willow bark helped treat the 鈥渁gues鈥�, or fevers, of people living in damp areas.

Willow bark, it turns out, is a rich source of salicylates, the class of compounds to which aspirin (acetylsalicylic acid) belongs. For more than a century, people have been taking aspirin in tablet form, and it is now one of the world鈥檚 most popped pills.

In our 20 September 1979 issue, we reported on some surprising new benefits of the drug. 鈥淭he humble aspirin,鈥� we wrote, 鈥渕ay turn out to be an important therapeutic tool in preventing blood clots in particularly sensitive people鈥�.

The result came from a 鈥渓arge team of researchers from St Louis, Missouri. They gave the drug to a group of 19 patients undergoing blood dialysis over a period of five months鈥�, we reported 鈥� more than halving the incidence of blood clots.

The team was careful not to claim too much, saying 鈥渁spirin may not necessarily prevent coronary thromboses鈥�. But time has vindicated their work. Today, aspirin is routinely prescribed in low doses to people who have had a heart attack or stroke to protect them from having another.

More recently, aspirin has acquired yet another use. Thanks to its anti-inflammatory properties, it seems it can help prevent some cancers. In 2014, a review led by Jack Cuzick at Queen Mary University of London found that in the UK, more than 130,000 deaths from cancer would be avoided if all people aged 50 to 64 took a low-dose aspirin daily. The effects were greatest for bowel, stomach and oesophageal cancer, with smaller effects for prostate, breast and lung cancer.

鈥淭he second most important thing you can do to prevent cancer, after not smoking, is to take a low-dose aspirin,鈥� Cuzick told 快猫短视频鈥檚 Chloe Lambert in May 2015. A wonder drug indeed 鈥� although as ever, check with your doctor first.

To find more from the archives, visit newscientist.com/old-scientist