Scientists at the UCSF-affiliated Gladstone Institutes have identified a protein that kick–starts the response to low levels of oxygen, suggesting new lines of research relevant to a variety of potentially fatal disorders associated with diminished oxygen supply, including cancer, heart disease, stroke and other neurological conditions that affect millions of people worldwide.

Mifepristone, a drug approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for terminating early pregnancy, might prove effective in preventing stress-induced relapse in recovering male alcoholics, based on findings in rats reported by researchers at the Ernest Gallo Clinic and Research Center at UCSF.

UCSF's pioneering program in Development and Stem Cell Biology attracts the nation's best faculty and students who are interested in understanding how embryos develop and how cells make tissues and organs – information needed to design novel therapies to cure diseases and treat injuries.