The campus community is invited to “Love and Laughter” comedy competition, a fundraiser hosted by the Auxiliary at UCSF Medical Center at Mount Zion on Saturday, May 2.

A new UCSF study examining the mechanism of a novel therapy that uses magnetic pulses to treat chronic migraine sufferers showed the treatment to be a promising alternative to medication.

UCSF researchers have identified a correlation between higher levels of glutamate, which occurs naturally in the brain as a byproduct of metabolism, and greater disease burden in multiple sclerosis patients. The study is the first to measure glutamate toxicity in the brain over time and suggests an improved method for tracking the disease and predicting its course.

New data on immunotherapy to boost cancer fighting immune cells shows promise. A UCSF oncologist played a key role in testing the Dendreon drug Provenge in prostrate cancer.

UCSF has announced the establishment of the Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences, the first joint department at the University.

Members of the public are invited to attend the Firefly Project’s live reading of letters that were exchanged this year between critically ill patients being treated at UCSF Medical Center and teenage pen pals who attend San Francisco Bay Area high schools.

Lawrence Drew, MD, PhD, director of the clinical virology laboratory at UCSF, answered some questions related to an unusual swine flu that has infected and killed people in Mexico.

UCSF Medical Center and campus officials continue to monitor national, state and local health reports following a worldwide outbreak of swine flu, including 30 confirmed human cases in California.

UCSF is offering the public free, drop-in screenings for oral, head and neck cancers on May 1 at 2380 Sutter St.