Life Sciences

NFL Players at Greater Risk of Brain Disease, Study Finds

Illustration by Doug Fraser​A study of retired professional football players has found that they are more likely than nonathletes to suffer symptoms of cognitive impairment, such as memory and speech problems, a conclusion that that is sure to buttress the arguments of those who point to the risk ... More >>

Drunken, Mutant Mice Subject of Intoxicating U.C. San Francisco Study

​A study involving drunken, mutant mice and a DNA sequence researchers cleverly nicknamed "lightweight" may lead to a greater understanding of human alcoholism. According to a paper penned by U.C. San Francisco researchers appearing in the current edition of PLoS Genetics, the "lightweight" mutant ... More >>

Prinz’ Perfect Record

​A study involving drunken, mutant mice and a DNA sequence researchers cleverly nicknamed "lightweight" may lead to a greater understanding of human alcoholism. According to a paper penned by U.C. San Francisco researchers appearing in the current edition of PLoS Genetics, the "lightweight" mutant ... More >>

S.F. State Mushroom King Names Glowing Fungi After Mozart Requiem. He Also Named Species Resembling Tiny Penis After His Good Pal.

Cassius V. Stevani / Chemistry Institute, University of Sao PauloThe luminous Mycena luxaeterna (eternal light) owes its name to lyrics from Mozart's requiem​Professor Dennis Desjardin is a well-named man. The San Francisco State mushroom specialist's handle, translated from French, literally mean ... More >>

Straight Talk About Brain Slices

Cassius V. Stevani / Chemistry Institute, University of Sao PauloThe luminous Mycena luxaeterna (eternal light) owes its name to lyrics from Mozart's requiem​Professor Dennis Desjardin is a well-named man. The San Francisco State mushroom specialist's handle, translated from French, literally mean ... More >>

Eating Unnaturally, Naturally

Cassius V. Stevani / Chemistry Institute, University of Sao PauloThe luminous Mycena luxaeterna (eternal light) owes its name to lyrics from Mozart's requiem​Professor Dennis Desjardin is a well-named man. The San Francisco State mushroom specialist's handle, translated from French, literally mean ... More >>

Blame it on the Chromosomes: UCSF Researchers Link Perfect Pitch to Genetics

Another genetic mutation...Milli Vanilli finally has the excuse they've been waiting for: It's not that they can't sing -- they just don't have musical talent in their blood. In the latest edition of the American Journal of Human Genetics, U.C San Francisco researchers say they've discovered a regio ... More >>

This Afternoon: Elvis Costello at Amoeba

Elvis Costello and Jim LauderdaleMonday, June 22, 2009Amoeba MusicBetter than: Concerts you have to pay for.Sure, it's finally feeling like summer in San Francisco today, but a good couple hundred people skipped work this morning for more reasons than just working on their tan. The line that stretch ... More >>

Stem-cell stalemate: The push for cures may produce only disappointment - or worse

Elvis Costello and Jim LauderdaleMonday, June 22, 2009Amoeba MusicBetter than: Concerts you have to pay for.Sure, it's finally feeling like summer in San Francisco today, but a good couple hundred people skipped work this morning for more reasons than just working on their tan. The line that stretch ... More >>

Nature, Nurture, or All of the Above?

A local author turns his body into a testing ground. Results vary.

Mom-and-Pop Record Stores Not Exactly Cheering Virgin's Demise

The Virgin megastore died? Drag. The plaintive statements from city officials when the Virgin megastore announced it was closing shop seemed slightly un-San Francisco. Isn't this the city that hates big box stores with such a vengeance that they're blocked from taking root by anti-corporate ... More >>

Ernest Gallo Research Center Discovers Human Jug-Wine Gene

"Back off, I'm a scientist." Researchers at the University of California, San Francisco, Ernest Gallo Clinic and Research Center have discovered a region of the human genome that determines how the body reacts to jug wine, according to findings announced in the Dec. 8 online edition of the Proceedin ... More >>

Synthetic Biology Debate

"Back off, I'm a scientist." Researchers at the University of California, San Francisco, Ernest Gallo Clinic and Research Center have discovered a region of the human genome that determines how the body reacts to jug wine, according to findings announced in the Dec. 8 online edition of the Proceedin ... More >>

This Just In: Ants No Longer Morally Superior to Humans

"Back off, I'm a scientist." Researchers at the University of California, San Francisco, Ernest Gallo Clinic and Research Center have discovered a region of the human genome that determines how the body reacts to jug wine, according to findings announced in the Dec. 8 online edition of the Proceedin ... More >>

Sebastopol Mastodon for Sale on eBay

"Back off, I'm a scientist." Researchers at the University of California, San Francisco, Ernest Gallo Clinic and Research Center have discovered a region of the human genome that determines how the body reacts to jug wine, according to findings announced in the Dec. 8 online edition of the Proceedin ... More >>

MRSA-Killing Fogger Invented by Brits: Bloody Good Job

"Back off, I'm a scientist." Researchers at the University of California, San Francisco, Ernest Gallo Clinic and Research Center have discovered a region of the human genome that determines how the body reacts to jug wine, according to findings announced in the Dec. 8 online edition of the Proceedin ... More >>

Florida Says Evolution Happened: by One Vote

"Back off, I'm a scientist." Researchers at the University of California, San Francisco, Ernest Gallo Clinic and Research Center have discovered a region of the human genome that determines how the body reacts to jug wine, according to findings announced in the Dec. 8 online edition of the Proceedin ... More >>

There Already Is Blood

"Back off, I'm a scientist." Researchers at the University of California, San Francisco, Ernest Gallo Clinic and Research Center have discovered a region of the human genome that determines how the body reacts to jug wine, according to findings announced in the Dec. 8 online edition of the Proceedin ... More >>

We "Really" Love Them

"Back off, I'm a scientist." Researchers at the University of California, San Francisco, Ernest Gallo Clinic and Research Center have discovered a region of the human genome that determines how the body reacts to jug wine, according to findings announced in the Dec. 8 online edition of the Proceedin ... More >>

Art Rolls By

"Back off, I'm a scientist." Researchers at the University of California, San Francisco, Ernest Gallo Clinic and Research Center have discovered a region of the human genome that determines how the body reacts to jug wine, according to findings announced in the Dec. 8 online edition of the Proceedin ... More >>

Mother Nature or Nurture?

The question of whether to begin saving creatures and habitats from climate change

Psycho Dogs

What makes canines go crazy? The answer is in their genes.

Jack White bros down for an intimate in-store

What makes canines go crazy? The answer is in their genes.

DNA Loungin'

Observing the mating rituals of horny dudes at the Noc Noc

Best Place to Buy 45s and 78s

Observing the mating rituals of horny dudes at the Noc Noc

Best Record Store

Observing the mating rituals of horny dudes at the Noc Noc

Best DVD Selection

Observing the mating rituals of horny dudes at the Noc Noc

DVD Gift Box

Observing the mating rituals of horny dudes at the Noc Noc

God of the Flies

Arts gadfly Jonathon Keats tries to map the one true Lord on the genetic tree of life via fruit flies, prayer, and KGO radio

By Lessley Anderson

A Question of Risk

Plans for a biodefense "hot lab" at Lawrence Livermore have ecologists, disarmament advocates, and mainstream scientists up in arms

Clone Home

Jellyfish DNA in a rabbit? It's science; it's art; it's "Gene(sis)" at the Berkeley Art Museum.

Palookaville

In S.F.'s political fight game, all the contestants are ignoring a national biotech debate that could put the local economy down for the count

The New Defenders

An explosion of federal funding has Bay Area researchers at the forefront of America's counter-terrorism program. Will the money make us safer - or just make science a military secret?

Crying Whale

Environmental groups sent out a worldwide call to save the gray whale from a Mexican salt plant. They got millions of dollars and thousands of new members. But scientists found no threat to the whales.

The Anthrax Detector No One Wants

In Berkeley, researchers have found a way to identify deadly spores, which could lead to simple, smoke detector-like devices. So why isn't anyone interested?

Who Owns Your Clone?

A San Francisco firm thinks it's time people started copyrighting their DNA

Letters to the Editor

God and Science; Potshot or Put-on? You Decide.; Dancing Around the Issue

Looking for God at Berkeley

A provocative theory called "intelligent design" claims evolution is hogwash. But it's not the usual religious zealots leading the latest attack on Darwin. It's scientists and professors at Cal.

Best Mushroom Source

Mycological Society of San Francisco

The Battle for Walpert Ridge

A lawsuit over a proposed Hayward country club promises to be more than just another environmentalists-vs.-developers fight

The Cheetah Club

How a rare group of spotted patients and a small cadre of persistent doctors could help change the face of cancer research

Deranged in the Mesozoic

Disney's Computer-Animated Feature Dinosaur

Ca$h for Genes

After billionaire pedophile Larry Hillblom died, illegitimate children began stepping forward to demand part of his estate. It took cutting-edge genetic sleuths to prove that they were, indeed, to the mogul born.

Genes Without Frontiers

The so-called gene chip could revolutionize the way we treat cancer patients. That is, if biotech firms don't keep it out of doctors' hands.

Science of the Lambs

Buying Dolly the duplicated sheep has brought researchers at the Bay Area's Geron Corp. to the threshold of remarkable frontiers in transplants and cloning. Do we want to follow their lead?

Lab Rats

UCSF's Stanley Prusiner is a Nobel laureate and superstar of medical research. But employees don't feel safe working for him.

Gonna Fly Now

Trading with the enemy helps a Berkeley geneticist divine the secrets of the fruit fly

Pulling the Wings Off Flies

A scientist discovers what makes the insects so agile -- and why NASA should care

Snake Eyes

A scientist wonders what the inscrutable snake has to teach us

The Straight Poop

Human excrement in the parks -- dangerous or just dirty?