FYI…UCSF in the News is a daily summary of news stories published worldwide that highlight UCSF, its affiliated programs, and issues that affect the University.  To read the full news story, click the individual headlines listed below.

On the second Wednesday of each month, FYI…UCSF in the News includes an additional "Research Roundup" section that lists research papers authored by UCSF faculty and published in the journals Cell, Health Services Research, JAMA, Lancet, Nature, NEJM, Nursing Research, and Science.

UCSF PRINT AND ONLINE COVERAGE

  • Can positive thinking help you beat an illness? (Free Lance-Star -- Fredericksburg, VA)
    Dr. Susan Folkman, a professor of medicine and director of the Osher Center for Integrative Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco comments in the Free Lance-Star that "...It's safe to say that being upbeat can be protective of your health."
  • Crohn's disease different in boys than in girls (Reuters)
    Dr. Melvin Heyman at the University of California, San Francisco, and colleagues report in the journal Pediatrics that "Crohn's disease tends to be more severe in girls than in boys, but boys with the disorder are more prone to stunted growth," said Reuters.
  • Focused amid his fight (Fresno Bee)
    Dan Brown, 49, defensive coordinator for the Fresno State Bulldogs, underwent brain surgery for cancer at UCSF Medical Center last August, and has recently returned to his coaching position.
  • Tepid response for 'compact' (Boston Globe - Online)
    "Excerpts from the Globe's blog on the Boston-area medical community: Former Harvard overseer Bruce Alberts has been named editor-in-chief of the journal Science.A professor of biochemistry and biophysics at the University of California, San Francisco, Alberts had previously been the president of the National Academy of Sciences and chair of the National Research Council. His six-year term as an overseer of Harvard University ended in June. He earned a doctorate from Harvard in 1965."
  • It's Shangri-La in S.F. for low-income seniors Mission Bay subsidized... (San Francisco Chronicle - Online)
    The Chronicle reports: "In San Francisco's most up-and-coming neighborhood - high-tech, high-rent Mission Bay -- 180 senior citizens with very low incomes have found paradise." UCSF Mission Bay is mentioned.
  • Tracking the source of San Pedro Creek's pollution (Pacifica Tribune)
    The Pacifica Tribune reports: "Pacifica residents as well as surfers and swimmers at Pacifica State Beach have long known about the pollution that washes out of San Pedro Creek. The creek is known to be polluted with fecal bacteria, which has contributed to advisory warnings at Pacifica State Beach. People and their pets have become ill after contact with water potentially contaminated with fecal bacteria." UCSF was part of a research team that identified the pollution levels and characteristics of the creek.
  • Food Scarcity and H.I.V. Interwoven in Uganda (New York Times)
    The Times' David Tuller writes: "As a journalist turned graduate student in public health, I am in Uganda for five weeks as part of a research team investigating whether 'food insecurity' -- a persistent difficulty in finding enough to eat -- undermines the effectiveness of H.I.V. treatment. ... The study is part of a collaboration between the University of California, San Francisco, and the Mbarara University of Science and Technology, a prestigious institution in this small, bustling city southwest of Kampala, the Ugandan capital."
  • Faces of 2007 Drew Endy, leader in synthetic biology (San Francisco Chronicle - Online)
    The Chronicle reports: "Drew Endy is an inventive scientific heir of the original genetic engineers at Stanford and UCSF who started to revolutionize biology and medicine around the time he was born in 1970. His generation may leap even further, not just by splicing a few genes but by constructing entire synthetic life forms whose impact across many technologies could rival the transforming effects of the computer age." --- UCSF professor Wendell Lim is quoted.
  • Even Top Performers Have Flaws, and That Might Be a Good Thing (New York Times)
    The New York Times reports: "Don’t tell the piano teacher, but practice doesn’t really make perfect. A virtuoso musician may seem to nail every note, but actually there are tiny variations in even the most skilled performance." Evren Tumer and Michael Brainard of the University of California, San Francisco, report in the journal Nature that experiments with songbirds show these differences in motor movements in humans is the body's way of improving performance.
  • Cancer's newest prescription (USA Today)
    A report by the Institute of Medicine says doctors don't address the psychological needs of cancer patients. A cancer survivor tells USA Today: "Doctors are so focused on eradicating cancer that they sometimes ignore the shock and other emotions that can hinder treatment. Even the best cancer treatment can fail if doctors don't pay attention to the psychological and social needs of patients, the report says." Nancy Adler, chairman of the Institute of Medicine's panel and a professor of psychology at the University of California, San Francisco, is quoted. .
  • Hope for alcoholics in gene research (The Australian)
    Researchers from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and UCSF report in the Journal of Neuroscience they discovered an area in the brain that responds when impulsive decisions are made, and a gene mutation that increases this brain activity. The Australian reports: "The genetic variation was already known to reduce levels of dopamine in people with brain disorders such as Parkinson's disease. Team member and UCSF neurologist Howard Fields said: 'The genetic findings raise the hopeful possibility that treatments aimed at raising dopamine levels could be effective treatments for some individuals with addictive disorders.'"

UCSF TELEVISION COVERAGE

  • Investigators probe killer tiger's escape at zoo (CNN)
    Dr. Rochelle Dicker, and Dr. John Brown, San Francisco General Hospital trauma surgeons and UCSF faculty, were interviewed on the major news outlets about the tiger mauling at the SF Zoo yesterday that resulted in the death of one person and the Siberian tiger, Tatiana, and injured two other men whose conditions are now stable. Dr. Dicker spoke at the formal press conference at SFGH this morning that aired on all markets; Dr. Brown was quoted on ABC stations nationwide. --- Air Times: Press conference at SFGH, 11 AM

UCSF HEADLINES

  • Gladstone Scientists Cited in Top 50 Achievements for 2007 (UCSF Today)
    "Scientific American magazine has cited researchers at the Gladstone Institute of Cardiovascular Disease (GICD) and the University of California, Berkeley for one of the top 50 achievements in business, policy and research for the year 2007," reports the Gladstone Institute.