Experts will explore the often sensational stories about gender – including the recent “sex testing” of intersex South African runner Caster Semenya – in a new series at UCSF.

Kick-off event for the 20th annual Macy’s Christmas Tree Lighting benefiting UCSF Children’s Hospital. The celebration will feature a visit from Honorary Chair and San Francisco Giants pitcher Barry Zito, as well as face painting, refreshments, and elves to entertain young patients. Great photo, audio and video opportunities.

Opening today at Mission Bay, the UCSF Orthopaedic Institute is a major new center that is the most comprehensive location in the Bay Area for outpatient treatment, research and training in musculoskeletal conditions, injuries and sports medicine.

Not testosterone, but rather estrogen, the “female” hormone, is most directly responsible for the development of brain circuits in males that guide aggressive and territorial behaviors – at least in mice.

Music, dance, film screenings, book signings, lectures and scientific symposia are all part of this year’s diversity celebration activities, which begin on October 8 at UCSF.

In a study of nearly 250,000 veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, those who were diagnosed with mental health disorders used non-mental health medical services provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs at significantly higher rates than those without mental health disorders.

Territorial behavior in male mice might be linked to more “girl-power” than ever suspected, according to new findings at UCSF. For the first time, researchers have identified networks of nerve cells in the brain that are associated with how male mice defend their territory and have shown that these cells are controlled by the female hormone estrogen.

UCSF is celebrating the grand opening of its new Orthopaedic Institute, a major new facility for treating patients and translational research.

The campus community is invited to hear Lewis Cantley, a professor of systems biology at Harvard Medical School, deliver the Maurice, Ethel and Jane Sokolow Memorial Cancer Endowment Lectureship on October 21.

Researchers at UCSF Medical Center have begun enrollment for an early-stage clinical trial to evaluate the safety and efficacy of an adult stem cell therapy for patients who have just experienced their first acute myocardial infarction, or heart attack. The trial is part of a multi-center national study.