A roundup of recent pertinent science news from New Scientist: First, global warming trends have roused fears that malaria is headed for higher latitudes. A new computer model appears to set our minds at ease.

Second, a surprise success in reprogramming cells

brings brain repair a step closer. Scientists have found that it is relatively easy to coax brain tissue to revert to stem cell status. Reimplanting such tissue could help patients regenerate brain matter lost or damaged, for example, in Parkinson’s Disease or after a stroke.

Next, accumulating evidence suggests that the first stars after the big bang at the dawn of the universe were monsters pumping out millions of times the energy of the largest stars in today’s universe, and suffering violent spectacular deaths. These stars may have briefly pumped out more energy than 100 billion galaxies in going supernova! Their brief and violent lifecycle may have been responsible for the generation of most of the elements heavier than hydrogen and helium in the modern universe.

Finally, CERN scientists think they have spotted the

Higgs particle, the most sought-after prize in

particle physics — the

elusive particle that gives matter its mass. New Scientist