Years of Marijuana Use Linked to Some Memory Problems Decades Later
A new study conducted at UCSF looked at “mid-level” marijuana users and found that this group had worse verbal memory but no deficiencies in other measures of cognitive function.
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Landmark Study Finds Dementia Risk Varies Significantly Among Racial And Ethnic Groups
In the largest and longest study thus far of ethnic disparities in dementia risk, researchers compared six ethnic and racial groups within the same geographic population and found significant variation in dementia incidence among them.
Discovery May Lead To Better Egg Screening And IVF Outcomes
Experts in IVF from UCSF have discovered a pattern of protein secretion during egg maturation that they say has the possibility of leading to a new, non-invasive test to evaluate the fitness of eggs before they are fertilized in the clinic.
Legalized Marijuana In California Could Hurt Public Health, Analysis Says
Pending ballot proposals to legalize retail marijuana in California could lead to the development of a powerful new industry that could thwart public health measures for the sake of building revenues, according to a policy analysis by researchers at UCSF.
The Evolution of Football: America’s Favorite Sport Celebrates What Makes Us Uniquely Human
You don't have to be an NFL star to throw better than any of our closest primate relatives. Human evolution has given us both the brain and brawn we need to make precise throws, but it comes with a few trade-offs.
Tricked-Out Immune Cells Could Attack Cancer, Spare Healthy Cells
UCSF scientists have created a new class of highly customizable biological sensors that can be used to form “logic gates” inside cells of the immune system, giving these cells the capability to home in on and kill a wide range of cancer cells while preventing them from attacking normal tissue.
Estrogens Reverse Abnormality In Zebrafish Carrying Gene Mutation Associated With Autism
An international team of scientists has discovered that estrogens reverse a striking behavioral abnormality in zebrafish carrying mutations in a gene known to cause autism in humans.
Drug Provides Better Kidney Transplant Survival Rates than Current Standard of Care
For the first time, an immunosuppressive agent has shown better organ survival in kidney transplant recipients than a calcineurin inhibitor, the current standard of care, according to a worldwide study led by UC San Francisco and Emory University investigators.
Brain Structure Governing Emotion Is Passed Down From Mother To Daughter, Says UCSF Study
A study of 35 families led by a UCSF psychiatric researcher showed for the first time that the structure of the brain circuitry known as the corticolimbic system is more likely to be passed down from mothers to daughters than from mothers to sons or from fathers to children of either gender.
Brain’s Wiring Connected to Sensory Processing Disorder
Researchers at UCSF have found that boys and girls with sensory processing disorder (SPD) have altered pathways for brain connectivity when compared to typically developing children, and the difference predicts challenges with auditory and tactile processing.
Regular Caffeine Consumption Does Not Result in Extra Heartbeats, Study Shows
Contrary to current clinical belief, regular caffeine consumption does not lead to extra heartbeats, which, while common, can lead in rare cases to heart- or stroke-related morbidity and mortality, according to UCSF researchers.
For Breast Cancer Patients, Never Too Late To Quit Smoking
Documenting that it’s never too late to quit smoking, a large study of breast cancer survivors has found that those who quit smoking after their diagnosis had a 33% lower risk of death as a result of breast cancer than those who continued to smoke.
Are We Ready for a Blood Test for Cancer?
What if screening for cancer was as easy as checking your cholesterol? That’s the promise of techniques currently in development that may one day make it possible to detect the earliest stages of cancer with an annual blood draw.
Myelin Cells Swing Along Blood Vessels to Traverse the Brain
The cells that create myelin, a fatty material that insulates nerve fibers in the brain’s white matter, migrate into the developing brain by climbing and swinging on blood vessels, according to new research led by UCSF scientists.