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If you're a first-time visitor, hop the Powell-Hyde cable car downtown. It will carry you to Victorian Park, and downhill to the north is Hyde Street Pier with many early California coastal vessels. All four museum ships are open to the public. From the Pier, turn right (west) along the Aquatic Park shoreline. A cement path leads past a patch of Italy (the bocce ball courts) onto the crescent-shaped Municipal Pier. Returning via Beach Street, stop in at the ship-shaped National Maritime Museum at the foot of Polk Street. Across the street is Ghirardelli Square, which was once a woolen mill, later a chocolate factory and now a popular retail/dining complex.

San Francisco's souvenir superstore, located at Pier 39, is one of the largest retailers of San Francisco gifts, souvenirs and apparel. Open daily, 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Pier 39 (415) 397-0143 www.onlyinsanfrancisco.net

For lunch close to the Moscone Center, try some of these favorites.

From amazing seafood spots to its famous Chinatown, San Francisco is a city known for its culinary creations. Every visitor can find something for his or her taste buds among these top picks.

Asian influence is hard to miss in the diverse city of San Francisco, where about a third of the estimated 744,000 residents have Asian roots (2004 estimate, U.S. Census Bureau). It seems fitting that San Francisco's City Hall faces the newly redesigned Asian Art Museum, the work of highly respected Italian architect Gae Aulenti. This museum houses an impressive collection of 15,000 art objects — including statues made of jade, stone and bronze, and paintings, scrolls and furniture representative of many Eastern cultures.

San Francisco is well known for a multitude of cultural and historic reasons, some notorious — for instance, Alcatraz and earthquakes — but most more welcoming. Dermatology Times decided to take a closer look at three famous San Francisco attractions.

San Francisco has a history rich with Indian lore, disasters, inventions, breathtaking scenery, the Gold Rush and diverse cultures (it even had an emperor!) — and it is now one of the most cosmopolitan cities in the world.

If you've already received your program for the 2006 American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) Annual Meeting in San Francisco, you know that it's a very detailed, very descriptive, very big book. It's chock-full of valuable information on the sessions, schedules and presenters. That level of detail may make it a little difficult to locate some basic details, though. So we have extrapolated some of the general meeting information and presented it here for you in a concise, simple format.

One of the nice things about the annual American Academy of Dermatology meeting, aside from the fact that you get to see a fantastic city, pow-wow with your peers and immerse yourself in all aspects of dermatology, is that you can get all this and can meet continuing medical education (CME) requirements, too. This is a great opportunity for physicians, medical students, nurses, office personnel and researchers to expand educational horizons.

As always, each new year for the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) meeting brings changes to the agenda, how the meeting is run and other details that reflect the evolution of technology.

This year's attendees of the American Academy of Dermatology's Annual Meeting are lucky enough to take in the beauty of one of the most liberal and individualistic cities in the country. With its cool temperatures, a colorful past and cultural attractions, the Bay City is not the typical California hot spot.

A better option, says Patricia A. Clark, is to do your homework and anticipate the inevitable media requests that are bound to come your way.

Search out the smallest FDIC-member bank in your neighborhood and give it your business. You'll receive more personal attention from a small bank than you will at a financial behemoth and you'll have exactly the same insurance protection.

LaJolla, Calif. — As surgical abilities expand in dermatology, so too has the need for a thorough understanding of the surgical anatomy of the face by dermatologists, Hugh Greenway, M.D., says.

The "vaccine" approach of customizing the intervention to the patient is antithetical to the blockbuster mentality of much of the pharmaceutical industry.

Essential information to gather at the consult includes possible medical limitations, such as allergies, medications the patient is taking and whether the patient has a history of oral herpes simplex.

There has been much buzz in the news recently about the use of biologics for the treatment of psoriasis. But what are the pros and cons of these treatments, and how should they fit into physicians' armamentaria? Dermatology Times asked Staff Correspondent Lisa Samalonis to speak with Norman Levine, M.D., professor of medicine at the University of Arizona College of Medicine, and M. Alan Menter, M.D., Texas Dermatology Associates PA, Baylor University Medical Center, for their input.

Las Vegas — Treating difficult eczema cases requires starting with the basics and advancing to approaches such as combination therapies and compounded prescriptions when needed, according to an expert.

Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are type I transmembrane PRRs that are now known to be essential in the recognition of the pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs) that are unique to microbes.

Among the certainties awaiting new dermatologists joining or starting a practice — especially one specializing in cosmetic dermatology — is this: They'll be doing a lot of procedures using Botox (Allergan) and fillers.

There are now approximately 60 million people who are HIV-infected, while each day, 16,000 individuals become newly infected and 8,000 die from their disease.

Dermatologists report using various methods to keep abreast of the latest in dermatology, often with an eye to finding news outlets that are most accessible.

This time during her physical examination, the patient was certain that she was touched inappropriately.

As might be expected with any new cosmetic procedure, suture suspension, popularly known as "thread lift," has engendered significant media attention. Thread lift has been promoted on "Oprah," "Today" and "Good Morning America" as a "lunch-time facelift." More recently, articles in The New York Times and Allure magazine have questioned the predictability and longevity of results, and the potential for complications.

National report - Biologic agents will not necessarily be more effective than current drugs used for dermatological conditions, but will produce less toxicities, says the professor and chairman of dermatology at Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, N. C.

Like the pre-change certification process, the new one is not mandatory, though the lion's share of reputable medical facilities and healthcare organizations have required board certification, and most physicians have willingly complied.

State College, Pa. -- Researchers at Pennsylvania State University say they have discovered a gene that is responsible for Europeans' pale skin tones and the dark skin tones of Africans.

Berkeley, Calif. -- A new study says that an additive commonly found in cosmetics may inhibit the activity of sirtuins, enzymes associated with lifespan control in yeast and other organisms.

Washington -- The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) reported recently that Zostavax, Merck & Co.?s experimental vaccine to prevent shingles, does help curb related pain but does not significantly affect rates of death or hospitalization, U.S. regulatory staff said in documents released recently.

Menlo Park, Calif. -- After an unsuccessful attempt to persuade pharmaceutical companies to fund further research on a head lice treatment he says he discovered and developed, a dermatologist here has revealed that the treatment is actually an over-the-counter skin cleanser.