Aspirin has been called a wonder drug. And it’s easy to see why.

It’s inexpensive, its side effects are well-known and generally minor. And since it was developed in the 1890s, it’s been shown to provide a number of potential benefits, such as relieving pain, bringing down a fever, and preventing heart attacks and strokes. Over the last 20 years or so, the list of aspirin’s potential benefits has been growing. And it might be about to get even longer: did you know that aspirin may lower your risk of several types of cancer?

Studies of aspirin and cancer

A number of studies suggest that aspirin can lower the risk of certain types of cancer, including those involving the

• colon
• ovaries
• liver
• prostate.

The evidence that aspirin can reduce the risk of colon cancer is so strong that guidelines recommend daily aspirin use for certain groups of people to … Read the rest

“We know that if we do not act now, it will continue to accelerate,” the leader of Wales said. Gatherings are banned between people from different households, both indoors and outside.

(Image credit: Ben Birchall/AP)

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Editor’s note: Second in a series on the impact of COVID-19 on communities of color, and responses aimed at improving health equity. Click here to read part one.

In early March 2020, as COVID-19 was declared a public health emergency in Boston, Mass General Brigham began to care for a growing number of patients with COVID-19. Even at this early stage in the pandemic, a few things were clear: our data showed that Black, Hispanic, and non-English speaking patients were testing positive and being hospitalized at the highest rates. There were large differences in COVID-19 infection rates among communities. Across the river from Boston, the city of Chelsea began reporting the highest infection rate in Massachusetts. Within Boston, several neighborhoods, including Hyde Park, Roxbury, and Dorchester, exhibited infection rates double or triple the rest of the city. COVID-19 was disproportionately harming minority and vulnerable communities.

Working toward an equitable

An advisory committee to the Food and Drug Administration will hear the agency’s plans for approving a coronavirus vaccine and provide advice for modifying them if necessary.

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