Maryann Schilz, age 14, of Milwaukee, Wis., for her question:

WHAT EXACTLY IS ASPIRIN?

Aspirin is one of the most commonly used drugs in the world. It is used to relieve the pain of headaches, arthritis and rheumatism, and it also helps reduce fever in virus attacks and other infections. For some people it acts as a mild sedative.

Aspirin is the common name for acetylsalicylic acid. It is a colorless, odorless powder that has a rather bitter taste.

Shortages of the drug quinine led chemists to find other pain relievers in the 1800s. In 1853 a German chemist named Charles Gerhardt discovered aspirin as a natural byproduct of coal. Its medicinal value was recognized in 1899 by a German scientist named Heinrich Dreser.

Today aspirin is synthetically manufactured.