The 12 Days of Research at Massachusetts General Hospital

January 2017: She Watches Worms While They Sleep

How can the sleep habits of tiny worms tell us more about the brain chemistry behind a good night's sleep? Haley Mattison, PhD, a postdoctoral researcher in the laboratory of Joshua Kaplan, PhD, explains the connection.

February 2017: Autism and the Blood-Brain Barrier

A study from researchers at Mass General Hospital for Children found alterations in both the brain-blood barrier and intestinal permeability in individuals with autism. These alterations could be contributing to the inflammation of nervous system tissue and impacting behavior.

March 2017: Lack of Sleep Can Impact Childhood Behavior

Want to set your children up for success in school? You can start by establishing good sleep habits at an early age. Researchers at the Mass General Hospital for Children found that children ages 3 to 7 who don't get enough sleep are more likely to have behavioral problems later in childhood.

April 2017: Aspirin and Risk of Cancer Death

In a large scale study of health outcomes from 86,000 women and 44,000 men over a 32 year period, researchers from Mass General found that long-term aspirin use was associated with a lower risk of dying from colorectal cancer, breast cancer and prostate cancer, among others.

May 2017: Do Alzheimer's Patients Suffer Silent Seizures?

New research from Massachusetts General Hospital suggests a potential new connection between the devastating memory loss associated with Alzheimer's disease and "silent" seizures in the memory center of the brain.

June 2017: Why Autistic Individuals Avoid Eye Contact

A new research study finds that a region of the brain that responds to eye contact is overstimulated in autistic individuals, which could help to explain why they tend to avoid eye contact during conversations.

July 2017: A Strategy for Sneaking Drugs into Tumor Cells

At Massachusetts General Hospital, a real-life Trojan horse scenario that takes place on the nanoscale level could provide a way to sneak cancer drugs into fortified tumor cells so the drugs can attack from within.

August 2017: Predicting Painful Migraine Attacks

If you've experienced migraines, you know their arrival can be sudden and unpredictable. Now a team of researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital has developed a new forecasting model that has the potential to pinpoint when a migraine will strike by tracking an individual's stress levels over time.

September 2017: Lady Gaga News Highlights Fibromyalgia Research

Lady Gaga has been remarkably honest and open about her struggles with fibromyalgia, a chronic pain disorder that has been challenging to diagnose and treat because there is no test for it. Researchers at Mass General are hoping to change that by using imaging techniques to identify the brain changes associated with fibromyalgia.

October 2017: Modeling Alzheimer's Disease in 3D

Find out how an innovative new approach to modeling Alzheimer's disease in the lab—one that uses a three-dimensional gel that more accurately replicates how neurons interact in the brain—could help speed up research and treatment efforts.

November 2017: An On-the-Go Test for Food Allergies

What if you could quickly and accurately test the food at a restaurant for the presence of allergens such as gluten, milk, eggs or peanuts? A research team at Mass General has created a keychain-sized device to do just that, and it could soon be available for less than $50.

December 2017: Untangling the Connections Between Alzheimer's Disease, Depression and Anxiety

How do psychological symptoms such as depression and anxiety intertwine with cognitive disorders such as Alzheimer's disease in senior citizens? Jennifer Gatchel, MD, PhD, is using brain imaging technology to untangle these complex connections.