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<p>African American women have lower breast cancer survival rates than white women and University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) scientists are studying why – as well as how to increase their life spans.</p>
<p>A type of fat known as brown fat combined with a stimulating environment appears to help burn calories, at least in a mouse, and maybe even in humans. The findings further fuel enthusiasm for research aimed at converting white fat to brown fat.</p>
<p>Obesity research in overweight humans may soon be guided by genetic studies of eating behavior, metabolism and fat storage in the nematode worm, <em>C elegans</em>.</p>
Frontotemporal dementia and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease -- two fatal neurodegenerative disease with distinct symptoms -- are triggered by a common mutation in many cases, according to researchers who say they have identified the mutated gene.
<p>Malaria is an infectious disease caused by a parasite transmitted from person to person by the bite of a mosquito. In the past two centuries, numerous research and public health efforts worldwide have sought to combat this ancient scourge as this timeline shows.</p>
UCSF researchers say their analysis of the age-specific, long-term effects of chemotherapy on women provides new insights that will help patients and clinicians make more informed decisions about future reproductive options, such as egg harvesting.
A scientist at the UCSF-affiliated Gladstone Institutes has discovered how a gene contributes to a suite of health problems sweeping across America, offering new insight into how to combat these potentially fatal conditions.
<p>Asthma risk genes, inluding one in African Americans, have been identified in a new analysis of several large genome-wide studies of ethnically diverse populations.</p>
<p>A consortium of scientists is reporting that genetic secrets of multiple sclerosis may be buried in 50 “hot spots” in the human genome, a finding that will guide future efforts to assess an individual’s risk of susceptibility and may help develop new drugs for treating this complex disease.</p>
A UCSF-led pilot study in San Francisco has found the highest levels ever reported among pregnant women worldwide of banned chemicals used in flame retardants, a likely result, they believe, of California’s strict flammability regulations.