ScienceDaily: Top Science News

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• Scar tissue turned into heart muscle without using stem cells
• Geneticists identify genes linked to Western African Pygmies' small stature
• 'Warming hole' delayed climate change over eastern United States
• Structure of a key 'gene silencer' protein discovered: Potential therapeutic targets with 'untapped potential'
• Analytic thinking can decrease religious belief, study shows
• Genes shed light on spread of agriculture in Stone Age Europe
• Earliest life forms' operation promises therapies for diseases
• New form of lava flow discovered on Mars
• Manipulating molecules in heart protects mice on high-fat diets from obesity, affects metabolism
• NASA's WISE catches aging star erupting with dust
• Action videogames change brains, improve visual attention
• Rare protozoan from sludge in Norwegian lake does not fit on main branches of tree of life
• Almost seven million birds perish at communication towers in North America each year
• From feast to famine: A metabolic switch that may help diabetes treatment

Scar tissue turned into heart muscle without using stem cells Posted: 26 Apr 2012 02:41 PM PDT Scientists have shown the ability to turn scar tissue that forms after a heart attack into heart muscle cells using a new process that eliminates the need for stem cell transplant.

Geneticists identify genes linked to Western African Pygmies' small stature Posted: 26 Apr 2012 02:41 PM PDT If Pygmies are known for one trait, it is their short stature: Pygmy men stand just 4'11" on average. Now a study of the Western African Pygmies in Cameroon has identified genes that may be responsible for the Pygmies' relatively small size.

'Warming hole' delayed climate change over eastern United States Posted: 26 Apr 2012 12:51 PM PDT Climate scientists have discovered that particulate pollution in the late 20th century created a "warming hole" over the eastern United States -- that is, a cold patch where the effects of global warming were temporarily obscured. The findings have implications for industrial nations (like China) that have not yet tightened air quality regulations.

Structure of a key 'gene silencer' protein discovered: Potential therapeutic targets with 'untapped potential' Posted: 26 Apr 2012 12:50 PM PDT Scientists have described a protein that can effectively "silence" a gene by intercepting and slicing the gene's RNA transcripts before they are translated into working proteins.

Analytic thinking can decrease religious belief, study shows Posted: 26 Apr 2012 11:38 AM PDT A new study finds that analytic thinking can decrease religious belief, even in devout believers. The study finds that thinking analytically increases disbelief among believers and skeptics alike, shedding important new light on the psychology of religious belief.

Genes shed light on spread of agriculture in Stone Age Europe Posted: 26 Apr 2012 11:38 AM PDT One of the most debated developments in human history is the transition from hunter-gatherer to agricultural societies. Scientists have now shown that agriculture spread to Northern Europe via migration from Southern Europe.

Earliest life forms' operation promises therapies for diseases Posted: 26 Apr 2012 11:38 AM PDT Scientists have discovered that the gas nitric oxide (NO), produced in all cells of the human body for natural purposes, plays a fundamental regulatory role in controlling bacterial function, via a signaling mechanism called S-nitrosylation (SNO), which binds NO to protein molecules. In addition, the researchers discovered a novel set of 150 genes that regulate SNO production and disruption of these genes created bacterial cell damage resembling the cell damage seen in many common human diseases. Collectively these data point to new classes of antibiotics and several new disease treatments.

New form of lava flow discovered on Mars Posted: 26 Apr 2012 11:38 AM PDT High-resolution photos of lava flows on Mars reveal coiling spiral patterns that resemble snail or nautilus shells. Such patterns have been found in a few locations on Earth, but never before on Mars. The discovery was made by a graduate student and published in Science.

Manipulating molecules in heart protects mice on high-fat diets from obesity, affects metabolism Posted: 26 Apr 2012 10:50 AM PDT Researchers have demonstrated for the first time that the heart can regulate energy balance throughout the body, a finding that may point to more effective treatments for obesity, diabetes, and heart disease.

NASA's WISE catches aging star erupting with dust Posted: 26 Apr 2012 10:45 AM PDT Images from NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) reveal an old star in the throes of a fiery outburst, spraying the cosmos with dust. The findings offer a rare, real-time look at the process by which stars like our sun seed the universe with building blocks for other stars, planets and even life.

Action videogames change brains, improve visual attention Posted: 26 Apr 2012 08:43 AM PDT Playing an action videogame, even for a relatively short time, causes differences in brain activity and improvements in visual attention, a new study shows.

Rare protozoan from sludge in Norwegian lake does not fit on main branches of tree of life Posted: 26 Apr 2012 07:48 AM PDT Humankind's remotest relative is a very rare micro-organism from south-Norway. The discovery may provide an insight into what life looked like on earth almost one thousand million years ago. Biologists all over the world have been eagerly awaiting the results of the genetic analysis of one of the world's smallest known species, hereafter called the protozoan, from a little lake 30 kilometer south of Oslo in Norway. When researchers compared its genes with all other known species in the world, they saw that the protozoan did not fit on any of the main branches of the tree of life. The protozoan is not a fungus, alga, parasite, plant or animal.

Almost seven million birds perish at communication towers in North America each year Posted: 25 Apr 2012 04:30 PM PDT Every year nearly 7 million birds die as they migrate from the United States and Canada to Central and South America, according to a new study. The birds are killed by the 84,000 communication towers that dot North America and can rise nearly 2,000 feet into the sky. Placing that figure in context, the Exxon Valdez oil spill killed 250,000 birds and the Empire State building is 1,250 feet high.

From feast to famine: A metabolic switch that may help diabetes treatment Posted: 24 Apr 2012 05:51 PM PDT Humans are built to hunger for fat, packing it on during times of feast and burning it during periods of famine. But when deluged by foods rich in fat and sugar, the modern waistline often far exceeds the need to store energy for lean times, and the result has been an epidemic of diabetes, heart disease and other obesity-related problems. Now, scientists have identified the linchpin of fat metabolism, a protein known as fibroblast growth factor 1 (FGF1), which may open new avenues in the treatment of diabetes.

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