New research out of the Lillehei Heart Institute at the University of Minnesota shows that by turning on just a single gene, Mesp1, different cell types including the heart, blood and muscle can be created from stem cells. The study was published in the journal Cell Stem Cell.

“Previous research indicated that this gene was the “master regulator” for development of the heart, and that its activity prevented the differentiation of other cell types,” said Michael Kyba, Ph.D., associate professor in the University of Minnesota Medical School Department of Pediatrics and a Lillehei endowed scholar. “Our work reveals that this gene acts differently, and that it plays a role in the development of blood and skeletal muscle as well.  The outcome depends on the chemical signals that cells expressing this factor sense in their environment.”

It turns out atherosclerosis – or hardened arteries – isn’t just a modern cardiovascular problem to be blamed solely on our 20th and 21st century lifestyles.

Evidently, the problem has plagued mankind for thousands of years.

Alexandra Sifferlin of Time’s Healthland reports that earlier this week, researchers from St. Luke’s Mid America Heart Institute published findings showing that CT scans of 137 mummies representing four different regions of the ancient world revealed signs of atherosclerosis. The mummies scanned were from Peru, Egypt, southwest America and the Aleutian Islands in Alaska.

Sifferlin writes: “Although atherosclerosis is linked to many of our modern-day habits — from our fat-laden diets to our sedentary lifestyles — a study documenting hardened arteries among ancient mummies suggests that factors other than what we eat and how much we exercise may be contributing to the buildup of plaque in blood vessels.”

The findings, reported in The Lancet, were presented at the American College of Cardiology meeting in San Francisco earlier this week.

If you have trouble starting your day without a kick from caffeine, you’re not alone.  Estimates vary, but one study from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine puts the number of Americans regularly using caffeine between 80 to 90 percent.

For most healthy adults, caffeine presents no serious problems when consumed in the moderate amounts found in coffee or soft drinks.  It’s when the caffeine content starts creeping upward that potential dangers of the drug can become reality.

Last month, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) cited Monster Energy, a highly-caffeinated energy drink, as potentially having contributed to the deaths of five people over the last three years, including a 14-year-old Maryland teen who died in December from a heart arrhythmia after drinking large quantities of the drink.

Then, last week, the FDA released reports that possibly connect Monster Energy and another brand, 5-Hour Energy, to 13 deaths since 2009.

For their part, the companies deny any connection between their product and the deaths.  And as the Boston Globe’s Karen Weintraub points out: the FDA reports don’t firmly link the deaths to the energy products; the reports simply mean consumers consumed the beverages before they became ill.

Furthermore, experts are still trying to determine how much caffeine is too much, and how the drug compounds existing problems in the body or creates new ones, if it does that at all.

Today is the culmination of 10 weeks of intensive research and learning for a group of select scholars on the University of Minnesota campus.

Twelve students from both high school and college programs are completing their work in the Lillehei Heart Institute (LHI) Summer Research Scholars Program.

This highly competitive program is designed to inspire the brightest students to choose a career in cardiovascular science and medicine.

“The University of Minnesota has led the world in cardiovascular medicine. With this program, we intend to build the future leaders in cardiovascular medicine and science,” said Mary Garry, Ph.D., LHI Summer Scholars program director.