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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

When you love music, you go to a concert. When you love art, you go to a gallery. But when you love science you can’t just go to a laboratory — or can you?

Dennis Jones, PhD Dennis Jones, PhD, is a postdoctoral fellow in the Edwin L. Steele Labs at Massachusetts General Hospital. Dr. Jones won an award for a poster detailing the results of a research study that shows how MRSA infections contribute to recurrences of lymphedema by damaging muscle cells with bacterial toxins. Continue reading toRead more

Michael Mansour, MD, PhD At first glance, Candida auris (C. auris) seems like the fungus equivalent of a comic book supervillain—at least from a human perspective. A new species of infectious fungus that arrived seemingly out of nowhere a decade ago, C. auris is resistant to all known forms of antifungal drugs, and it sticks to surfaces so wellRead more

Erica Shenoy, MD, PhD For patients in hospital and healthcare settings, a Clostridium difficile (C. difficile) infection is a complication that can result in serious complications and even death. C. difficile is caused by a bacterium and the symptoms of infection include diarrhea, fever and severe abdominal cramps. While some cases may be mild, some can beRead more

Amanda Furness, PhD Amanda Furness, PhD, is a postdoctoral research fellow in the Center for Genomic Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital. Her poster, Therapeutic insight into Mucolipidosis IV via in vitro glia models, recently won an award at Mass General’s Research Fellow Poster Celebration. We asked Dr. Furness about her research: What problem(s) are youRead more

45654786 – close up 3d illustration of microscopic cholera bacteria infection Researchers from Massachusetts General Hospital, Duke University and the International Centre for Diarrheal Disease Research in Dhaka, Bangladesh, have used machine learning algorithms to find patterns within communities of bacteria living in the human gut. These patterns could indicate who among the approximately oneRead more