Aspirin inhibits cancer, helps with diabetes and weight.

[The Magic Pudding]

An international team led by the University of Dundee in Scotland has discovered that aspirin affects an enzyme that controls metabolism.

This can inhibit the growth of cancer and also help with diabetes and weight control.

RICK PEARSON: So what they identified was a new target within the cell that salicylate specifically activates. That target is called the AMP dependent protein kinase.

When it's activated in the cell, what it does is in the body it stimulates fat metabolism so you metabolise fat, burn fat and lowers the levels of fatty acid.

What's also known about this enzyme is that it plays a key role in inhibiting a pathway within the cell which is activated in a high proportion of human cancers.

MATTHEW CARNEY: Potentially down the track it's looking like maybe even a cure for some cancers?

RICK PEARSON: The potential benefit of this study is that you can imagine if you can therefore maximise the effectiveness of a natural product or metabolite of aspirin, it's going to be much cheaper and hopefully can be developed to have fewer side effects than other targeted therapies.

Cool, the wisdom of my long term investment of $7 a year in Aspirin tablets is confirmed.

[OldGit]

You need to be careful, though - it has all manner of other effects.

[pytheas]

You need to be careful, though - it has all manner of other effects.

hear hear,

and they are not even "side" effects, but primary, those bleedings in the gastric mucosa