As United States legislators discuss health care reform, two UCSF experts will offer insights into one public health care system that they think works on September 17.

UCSF researchers have successfully used protease inhibitors to restore to normal levels a key protein involved in early brain development. Reduced levels of that protein have been shown to cause the rare brain disorder lissencephaly, which is characterized by brain malformations, seizures, severe mental retardation and very early death in human infants.

Scientists are using old bones to completely map the DNA of Neanderthals. Comparisons may shed light on what makes our own species unique.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi reaffirmed her belief in a public option to “lower costs, improve quality, expand coverage and retain choice” in health care coverage at a summit at UCSF on Sept. 2.

Zina Mirsky, associate dean of administration in the UCSF School of Nursing, is among those credited for leading the cause of Japanese-Americans, who were forced into internment camps in 1942, to earn honorary UC degrees. Read the full story on the University of California website.

UCSF is sponsoring an event on September 12 that will promote healthy lifestyles, with a particular focus on reaching the local African American community.

UCSF researchers have developed a new approach to identify specific genes that influence how cancer cells respond to drugs and how they become resistant. This strategy, which involves producing diverse genetic mutations that result in leukemia and associating specific mutations with treatment outcomes, will enable researchers to better understand how drug resistance occurs in leukemia and other cancers, and has important long-term implications for the development of more effective therapies.

A new study of mammogram use among Latina and Filipina women shows the powerful influence of culture in determining health behavior.

Faculty members who want to develop skills to lead the University into the future are encouraged to apply for the next training program by the October 7 deadline.