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One hundred years ago, a young chemist in Germany made a discovery which, today, continues to ease our aches and pains, reduce our fevers, fight inflammation and save lives. On August 10, 1897, this chemist, Felix Hoffmann, discovered a stable form of acetylsalic ....

Middle of Essay
.... certain types of cancer and even Alzheimer's disease. Aspirin: from willow tree to Nobel Prize Aspirin's active ingredient, acetylsalicylic acid (ASA), is the commercially synthesized form of a naturally occurring compound whose uses can be traced back 2,000 years. The compound, called salicin, is found in the white willow tree. Around 200 B.C., Hippocrates, the Greek physician, discovered that chewing on willow bark could relieve pain and fever. Although ASA was a proven pain reliever, no one really knew how it worked until more than 70 years after Hoffmann's discovery. In 1971, British pharmacologist John Vane discovered that the anti-infl ....