Daily digest September 4 2015

Aspirin may help you fight cancer by preventing tumours evading the body's immune system, research suggests

Aspirin could help the body battle cancer when combined with immunotherapies, according to research.

The painkiller suppresses a molecule that allows tumours to evade the body’s immune defences, the study found.

In mice, combining immunotherapy – which involves using medicines that encourage the immune system to attack cancerous cells – with aspirin or other Cox inhibitors was found to ‘substantially’ slow the growth of bowel and malignant skin cancer.

Read more on Mail Online

Farm dust protects kids against asthma

Researchers have long known that growing up on a farm seems to protect children against allergies and now they know the secret lies in the dust.

New findings by Belgian experts, published in the US journal Science, could help lead to a vaccine against asthma one day.

'At this point, we have revealed an actual link between farm dust and protection against asthma and allergies,' said Bart Lambrecht, a professor of pulmonary medicine at Ghent University.

Read more on the Sky News website

Care of dying patients 'still inconsistent and poor'

More investment is needed to improve the 'inconsistent and often poor' care of dying people, say palliative care experts.

The King's College London lecturers also fear relatives are sometimes excluded from 'critical conversations' about the end of a loved one's life.

And they say the NHS does not always have the capacity to provide 'time and continuity'.

Read more on BBC Online