What to know about the summer solstice in the UK
The summer solstice marks the official start of summer, occurring when Earth's North Pole is angled closest to the Sun, bringing the longest day and shortest night to the Northern Hemisphere.
This year, the exact moment of the solstice will be at 10:42 PM Eastern Time on June 20, which translates to 3:42 AM on June 21 in the United Kingdom.
People worldwide traditionally observe the change of seasons around the solstice with various celebrations, including bonfires, festivals, and Fête de la Musique.
The word "solstice" means "solar standstill," reflecting how the Sun's angle appears to shift very gradually for about 10 days around this time.
Ancient monuments like Stonehenge, Karnak, and Chankillo reveal that civilizations have tracked the Sun's northern and southern travels for over 5,000 years.
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Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
Harvard will destroy 1.5million samples that could hold the key to stopping colon cancer epidemic
Fifty years of Harvard research is set to be flushed down the toilet. Since 1976, the university has collected more than 1.5million samples of human feces, urine, toenails, saliva, hair and blood from people for scientific research, allowing them to track how bodies change over time. Researchers behind the project say it could reveal key mutations that lead to cancer or habits that could help someone live longer. Dr Walter Willet, a physician who has been with the project since 1977, said the collection could also be a treasure trove of information on the reasons for the colon cancer surge in young people. But now, all of these possibilities are set to be lost after three grants to support the project — worth $5million per year — were cut by the Trump administration. Dr Willet has managed to secure emergency funding from Harvard for the collection but says this could run out within weeks. If more funds aren't raised, he said, then it's likely that the collection will be packed into plastic biohazard bags and shipped off to an incinerator — along with the valuable information it contains. 'We can't let that happen,' Dr Willit told 'we are working hard to make sure the resources are not lost'. The database — called the Harvard biorepository — holds samples from more than 200,000 women and men who took part in Harvard-led studies. This includes participants in the Nurses Health Study, 121,000 women tracked since 1976, and the Health Professionals Follow-up Study, tracking 51,000 men since 1986. For both studies, participants were asked to fill in bi-annual surveys on their diet, exercise and health — allowing researchers to detect factors that may raise someone's risk of suffering from a disease like cancer. More than 10,000 participants have already died, but scientists are continuing to carry out the surveys on those who are alive — some over 95 years old — hoping to detect hidden clues to longevity. Since 1982, the researchers have also been collecting biological samples from the participants to add further data to their project. From the Nurses Health Study, the database currently holds 62,000 toenail clippings, 50,000 urine samples, 30,000 saliva samples, 20,000 hair samples and more than 16,000 samples of feces collected between 1982 and 2019. It also holds an estimated 1.5million blood samples from more than 30,000 participants, and tissue samples from 16 cancers that emerged in participants during the study. From the Health Professionals Follow-up Study, it includes blood samples from more than 18,000 participants and more than 1,700 samples of tissue from cancers including prostate cancer. The Nurses Health Study has already resulted in the publication of more than 400 cancer-related studies, nearly 300 projects and participation in 33 cancer consortia. Top studies include a 2007 paper that found higher levels of inflammation-linked proteins in the blood raised the risk of colon cancer, and a 2004 paper that found people with higher levels of vitamin D in their blood had a lower risk of colon cancer. There are also early studies into the gut microbiomes of participants based on analysis of stool samples collected from 2019. While it is still too soon for these to reveal reasons for the surge in colon cancer cases, they hold promise Other notable findings include a 2003 paper that found postmenopausal women with higher estrogen levels had a higher risk of breast cancer. And a 1995 analysis of toenail clippings that suggested people with lower levels of selenium in their diets — a nutrient found in nuts — may have a higher risk of lung cancer, although this was later disputed by other research. Data from the studies' questionnaires has also been used in recent years to suggest that suggests a diet high in red meat could raise the risk of type 2 diabetes. And studies that linked a higher consumption of trans fats — a type of fat that influences cholesterol and that is used in cookies, pies and other bakery products — to a higher risk of coronary heart disease. The work was instrumental in the 2018 FDA ban on hydrogenated oils — which are used to make trans fats — in the US. The samples are stored in up to 60 large cylindrical freezers that are five-foot tall by five-foot wide housed in two locations at Harvard. It is split across two locations to protect the collection in case of an incident like a fire. The toenails and hair are not frozen because they do not degrade easily, Dr Willit said, meaning they are comparatively easy to store. But the rest of the collection is kept in the freezers that constantly have liquid nitrogen pumped through them — which has a temperature of -320F (-196C) — to preserve the samples. Running the freezers alone costs about $300,000 a year, Dr Willit said. The team receives several dozen requests a year for access to the collection from scientists, he added. In response, samples are either shipped to the scientists or the team undertakes the research in their lab and sends the scientists the results. Researchers are also constantly adding to the collection, collecting cancer samples from patients when the disease emerges and new data via surveys. So far, the Breast Cancer Research Foundation in New York has agreed to offer funding to preserve the cancer samples from the Nurses Health Study. It is not clear how long this funding will last. But Dr Willit says they are continuing to avidly seek backers for the samples in the rest of the collection. The database was supported by three federal grants from the National Cancer Institute, part of the National Institutes of Health. It comes amid a mammoth battle between the Trump administration and Harvard University, that has seen more than $3billion in grants cut from America's wealthiest institution. In the latest salvo, a federal judge has blocked the Trump administration's effort to keep Harvard from hosting foreign students — who make up approximately 27 percent of its student body. The administration has repeatedly accused the university of doing too little to fight anti-semitism on its campuses and to stem pro-Palestine protests that disrupted some classes in 2024 and 2025.
Daily Mail
8 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Study pinpoints exact number of coffees per day that can cut the risk of sudden cardiac death
A coffee a day might be enough to keep the doctor away. For US researchers have found coffee lovers tend to have healthier hearts, putting them at lower risk of cardiac death. And the benefits can be achieved by drinking just one cup a day, they claimed—but only if they drink it black. Those who drank between two to three cups, however, saw the most benefits, slashing their risk by almost a fifth. The findings, from the study of more than 46,000 people, add to the growing body of evidence highlighting the drink's health benefits. Professor Fang Fang Zhang, a nutrition expert at Tufts University in Boston, said: 'Coffee is among the most-consumed beverages in the world, and with nearly half of American adults reporting drinking at least one cup per day, it's important for us to know what it might mean for health.' Some research has already linked coffee to reducing the risk of heart disease, heart failure and strokes, while other studies report it prolongs life. But medics remain divided, warning that excessive amounts of coffee—packed full of caffeine—can actually damage the heart. The new study, in The Journal of Nutrition, tracked the daily coffee consumption of 46,332 people over the age of 20. Over a follow up of 11 years, they found black coffee and coffee with low levels of added sugar and saturated fat—like milk or cream—had a 14 per cent lower risk of death compared to no coffee consumption. But one cup of black coffee a day, specifically, slashed the risk of death including cardiovascular death, by 16 per cent. Those who drank between two and three a day saw the risk lowered by 17 per cent. However, researchers noted that the benefits peaked at three cups a day. They also found that those who added high amounts of sweeteners and dairy to their coffee did not experience the same benefits. Researchers acknowledged, however, that the coffee consumption was self-reported by volunteers, so may have been underreported, limiting the findings. It was also assessed without detailing the roast used and preparation methods. NHS data shows a rise in the number of younger adults suffering from heart attacks over the past decade. The biggest increase (95 per cent) was recorded in the 25-29 year-old demographic, though as numbers of patients are low even small spikes can look dramatic Under NHS guidance, consuming more than four cups a day can increase blood pressure. Around 2million people in the UK are diagnosed with some form of heart disease, according to Government figures. But charities estimate that a further six million have undiagnosed high blood pressure—one of the leading risk factors for stroke and heart attack. Heart disease describes a range of conditions that affect the heart and blood vessels. It's often caused by fatty deposits in the arteries that can make it harder for blood and oxygen to flow properly through the vessels and to and from the heart. This increases the risk of a blockage, and therefore stroke or heart attack. Last year, alarming data revealed that premature deaths from cardiovascular problems, such as heart attacks and strokes, had hit their highest level in more than a decade. MailOnline has previously highlighted how the number of young people, under 40, in England being treated for heart attacks by the NHS is on the rise. Cases of heart attacks, heart failure and strokes among the under-75s has tumbled since the 1960s thanks to plummeting smoking rates, advanced surgical techniques and breakthroughs such as stents and statins. But now, rising obesity rates, and its catalogue of associated health problems such as high blood pressure and diabetes, are thought to be one of the major contributing factors.
Medical News Today
10 hours ago
- Medical News Today
Modified DASH diet may reduce blood pressure in people with type 2 diabetes
Many people with diabetes also have high blood pressure, as well as unique nutritional study found that reducing sodium intake and following a modified version of the DASH diet helped to decrease blood pressure in participants with type 2 main reason for the observed decrease in blood pressure was the decreased sodium is common for people with diabetes to also experience high blood pressure. A study tested how a modified version of the DASH diet that focused on the nutritional needs of people with type 2 diabetes, combined with minimizing sodium intake, affected blood pressure dietary combination lowered systolic blood pressure among participants by around five points and diastolic blood pressure by around two points compared to the comparison diet with more sodium. This result was mainly from the decreased sodium findings were published in JAMA Internal DASH4D diet for blood pressure management The dietary approaches to stop hypertension (DASH) diet is a diet for heart health. Study author Scott J. Pilla, MD, MHS, explained to Medical News Today that 'The DASH diet is a healthy diet that is rich in fruits, vegetables and low-fat dairy products, and is lower in saturated fat and cholesterol.'However, the study notes that the DASH diet doesn't consider the unique dietary needs of people with type 2 diabetes. So, researchers created the 'Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension for Diabetes (DASH4D) diet,' which is similar to the DASH diet but considers what adults with type 2 diabetes need. For example, this diet was lower in carbohydrates than the typical DASH diet. Researchers tested how this diet, combined with decreased sodium intake, affected participants' blood randomized clinical trial included 102 adults with type 2 diabetes whose systolic blood pressure was between 120 and 159 mmHg. Participants were designated as having type 2 diabetes if they had a hemoglobin A1C of 6.5% or greater, were taking medications for diabetes treatment, or were ineligible to participate in the study for a number of reasons, including having type 1 diabetes, if their A1C was over 9%, or if they were taking weight loss average age of participants was 66 years. About two-thirds of participants used at least two medications to help lower blood pressure, and a little over half used at least two medications to lower blood 4 different dietsResearchers assigned participants to receive four diets in varying orders, each for five weeks. One was a DASH4D diet with low sodium, and another was the DASH4D diet but with higher sodium intake. The other two were comparison diets: one with lower sodium and one with higher sodium, and these diets were similar to the intake of adults with diabetes living in the United States. The participants were provided with the food for their assigned diets, and aside from allowed beverages, they were not supposed to eat food from other sources outside the did not lose weight throughout the study. Researchers measured systolic blood pressure during the last two weeks of each diet intervention. They kept track of adverse events among participants, such as any very high blood pressure self-reported how well they stuck to their assigned diets, but researchers also did a 24-hour urine excretion test during the fourth or fifth weeks to look at sodium, creatinine, and potassium levels, which also was a way to test how well participants were following diet findings showed that the lowering of blood pressure mostly occurred during the first three weeks of participants following a diet. The researchers found that the DASH4D diet with reduced sodium showed a better overall decrease in blood pressure versus the comparison diet that had higher sodium intake. The average difference in systolic blood pressure between these two groups was 4.6 mmHg, and the average difference in diastolic blood pressure was 2.3 mmHg.'The main finding was that a low-sodium DASH4D diet (compared to a higher sodium typical American diet) caused a statistically and clinically significant reduction in blood pressure. Sodium reduction appeared to contribute more strongly to reducing blood pressure than the DASH4D diet.'— Scott J. Pilla, MDJennifer Wong, MD, a board-certified cardiologist and medical director of Non-Invasive Cardiology at MemorialCare Heart and Vascular Institute at Orange Coast Medical Center in Fountain Valley, CA, also noted that 'Studies like these remind us of the beneficial impact of a heart-healthy diet, especially a low salt diet designed to modify blood pressure.'Study limitations This research only included a small number of participants and focused on a niche subgroup of individuals, limiting generalizability. The majority of participants were Black, which provided important information about this at-risk group. Two-thirds of the participants were women. However, research in other groups may also be dietary interventions for this study each only lasted five weeks, so long-term follow-up may be helpful with further data, such as following the assigned diet and health history, was self-reported by participants, so inaccuracies are adverse events on the DASH4D diet with low sodium were low, more research into the potential risks may be helpful. Researchers also suggest the need for more research in people with a higher level of risk. The amount that blood pressure was lowered by could have been less in this study for many reasons, such as the high number of participants taking diuretics and the number of participants who experienced changes to their blood pressure medications during the acknowledge that they weren't able to detect the separate impact of the DASH4D diet and decreased sodium intake. Another struggle was the COVID-19 pandemic. The authors explain that this 'interrupted participant feeding at several points.' It was also only a single-site also noted that 'More work is needed on how to make healthy, low sodium diets accessible. Following a healthy diet can be challenging and costly, and we would like to design diets that meet the DASH4D nutrient targets that are more affordable and tailored to different cultures.'Researchers note that it may be hard to decrease sodium intake to only 1,500 mg a day, and future research in this area will be helpful. The authors say this research should include 'implementation research in community settings.'Should I follow a DASH4D diet if I have diabetes?The result suggests that the DASH4D eating plan combined with lower sodium intake helps with blood pressure reduction in people with type 2 diabetes. Researchers note that a five mmHg reduction in systolic blood pressure can decrease the risk of stroke, heart failure, and cardiovascular events. It can also help with kidney noted the following regarding the clinical implications of the study:'Diet change can effectively improve blood pressure in people with diabetes, even those on multiple antihypertensive medications, so clinicians should still focus on diet even in these individuals.''Dietary sodium reduction is an important part of dietary change in people with diabetes to achieve better blood pressure control. Our specific DASH4D diet with lower sodium now has strong evidence for benefiting people with diabetes, so it should be strongly considered as a recommended diet in this population.'— Scott J. Pilla, MDEven though there may be a need for more research, Patrick Kee, MD, PhD, a cardiologist at Vital Heart & Vein, noted the following about the study's results:'The acceptability and adherence to the lower sodium intake (~1500 mg/day) was high among participants, suggesting that with proper guidance and access to prepared meals or education, such dietary targets are feasible in practice. This finding counters a long-standing belief that stringent sodium targets may be unrealistic for patients.'
