Migraines Correlate With Reduced Risk of Breast Cancer

 

In a newly published study, researchers at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle found a correlation between having a history of migraines and reduced risk of developing breast cancer. For some of the most common types, namely estrogen- and progesterone-receptor positive breast cancer, the risk was reduced by as much as 30%. According to Christopher Li, a co-author of the study, the researchers believe serum levels of hormones could be the common factor linking these diseases together. High levels of estrogen have previously been linked to increased risk of breast cancer, while low levels have been linked to increased risk of migraines. Li’s findings could provide “a new avenue to explore the biology behind risk reduction“. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A mammogram showing a cancerous tumor

Chandra X and the Crab Nebula

In 1999 NASA launched the Chandra X-Ray Observatory, which is part of NASA’s Great Observatories together with Hubble, Spitzer, and Compton. Chandra X recently took a beautiful picture of the Crab Nebula: 

According to NASA, this is the first picture clearly showing the faint boundary of the nebula’s X-ray emitting pulsar wind nebula. The white dot in the center is the neutron star (or pulsar) powering the nebula. Pulsars are essentially highly magnetized neutron stars that emit concentrated beams of electromagnetic radiation, which can only be observed when directed directly at earth. A pulsar will thus appear to pulsate (hence the name) when observed, and the regularity of this pulsing effect has been shown to be extremely precise, even to the level of an atomic clock. Anyhow, the rapid rotation of the pulsar in question combined with the intense electromagnetic field generated creates jets of matter and antimatter shooting out from the poles of the pulsar, and a strong wind flowing out in the equatorial direction. The inner ring surrounding the pulsar is possibly a shock wave serving as a boundary between the nebula and the matter/antimatter jets, and electrons and positrons flow outward from it, producing an extended X-ray glow. The shape of the nebula is related to the strong magnetic field, and the dark spots on the right and left is thought to be the result of a toroidal (doughnut) shaped magnetic field from a progenitor star.