Did you know that a superfood can combat PTSD? Or that missing just two hours of sleep each night can affect your metabolism? These and other exciting new research findings were presented at the Experimental Biology (EB) meeting last week in Boston. The meeting—which also serves as the APS annual meeting—is sponsored by six biomedical research professional societies and is a hub for biomedical researchers of all stripes.

If you’re unfamiliar with scientific meetings, you may be thinking, “Are publicly funded research dollars being spent to send scientists on vacation?” and “Would their time be better spent in the lab working toward that ‘eureka!’ moment?” The truth is that scientific meetings serve an important role in the process of advancing what we know about disease and finding solutions to health problems that we face every day.

One of the best things about scientific meetings is that they bring together experts from many different fields to bridge the gaps between science and medicine. In the case of the EB meeting, we gathered nearly 13,000 physiologists, anatomists, biochemists, pathologists, pharmacologists and nutritionists and set the stage for collaboration. The meeting offered numerous scientific sessions and networking opportunities where scientists presented and discussed research with their colleagues and learned new approaches that could be applied toward research goals. They could also follow research across themes—such as cancer biology, inflammation/immunity, neurobiology and obesity—and discover where findings might overlap and potentially lead to the next big medical advance or cure.

In addition to fostering collaboration, scientific conferences are also a hotbed for new research findings. Below is a sampling of some of the breaking physiology research presented at EB 2015:

• Blueberries Show Promise as Treatment for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
• More Reasons Why Getting a Good Night’s Sleep Is Important
• Why Gastrointestinal Disorders Afflict Women More Often than Men
• Diet Rich in Methionine—Found Most Abundantly in Eggs, Fish and Meats—May Promote Memory Loss
• “Ice It.” Why the Ubiquitous Advice Isn’t Healing Your Injury

This is just the tip of the iceberg. Learn more about the cool and cutting-edge science presented at Experimental Biology 2015.

Stacy Brooks is the former director of marketing and communications for the American Physiological Society (APS). One of her favorite things about working at APS was learning about the interesting and important research that physiologists do and finding ways to communicate their science to a wide variety of audiences who benefit from these research advances.