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Many people have heard about secondhand smoke or have experienced it being near a smoking bystander. But what about thirdhand smoke? Thirdhand smoke is the tobacco smoke residue remaining after a cigarette has been smoked. It can be residual smoke left in the air, but can also accumulate on surfaces, furniture, clothing and in dust.Read more

In recognition of World AIDS Day, we are sharing some recent work from the Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT and Harvard, which was established in 2009 with a dual mission to contribute to the accelerated discovery of an HIV/AIDS vaccine and to serve as a world leader in the collaborative study of immunology.

Obesity has become one of the most talked-about health issues but, ironically, we still haven’t mastered how to talk about it yet. With all the stigma surrounding the words like fat and obese, discussing weight issues can be tough for both people experiencing it, and physicians trying to address it. Medical experts say stigma canRead more

Researchers at the Ragon Institute of Massachusetts General Hospital, MIT and Harvard recently published an editorial in Science Immunology detailing their efforts to combine basic science and social good to reduce the high rate of HIV infection in young South African women while simultaneously empowering them. Here is a brief summary.

Clostridium perfringens is a common foodborne illness ‎that causes nearly 1 million infections each year. The bacterium has many environmental sources, but is typically found on raw meat and poultry.

If you’ve ever spent time in a beauty salon, you know that hair stylists give their clients more than just a new cut, color or style. They often serve as friends and confidants, dispensing advice on relationships, family and work challenges. But could they also help to prevent unwanted pregnancies and stop the spread of a deadly disease?

Even though we sleep so much of our life, we don’t know exactly what goes on in our brain when we sleep. But genetic studies can point a clear path for further investigation into the role of sleep.

What’s new in research at Mass General? Here’s a snapshot of studies recently published in top-tier scientific journals: Effect of folic acid on child brain development Have you ever noticed that everything from cereal to pasta to pancake mix has folic acid listed as an ingredient?  This is due to a government-mandated folic acid fortificationRead more

In the battle between bacteria and humans, the best defense may be a good offense.

A new research study from Rudolph Tanzi, PhD, and Robert Moir, PhD, researchers in the Department of Neurology at Massachusetts General Hospital, has uncovered a Jekyll and Hyde role for a naturally occurring protein in the brain most commonly associated with Alzheimer’s disease (AD). In conjunction with new findings from another research team at Icahn School ofRead more