Talking Points

Researchers propose new model of RNA transcription initiation

For years scientists have worked to understand molecular events at the initiation of RNA transcription, when special proteins called RNA polymerases, assigned to make a new hemoglobin molecule for example, kick-start the process. Now Chemistry professor Craig Martin and molecular biology doctoral student Luis Ramirez-Tapia have isolated these first steps and provide a new model for how and why it works.
 
Martin says, “People knew these steps happened, but we’re explaining why they happen and the consequences.” Using a combination of fluorescence imaging techniques in synthetic DNA, the

Researchers reveal structure of human enzyme, offering hope to children with rare metabolic disorders

Considered separately, inherited metabolic disorders such as Tay-Sachs disease and mucopolysaccharidosis 4A (MPS 4A) are exceedingly rare, complex and difficult to study. But taken as a group, the collection of more than 50 lysosomal storage diseases become more common, affecting approximately 1 in 7,000 births, and lessons learned about any one can be applied to the others.
 
Now a team of structural biologists led by Scott Garman of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology has again moved the field forward by revealing the structure of human galactosamine-6-sulfatase (GALNS), the lysosomal enzyme

CASA installs its first weather radar in Texas

Brenda Philips, deputy director of the College of Engineering’s Collaborative Sensing of the Atmosphere (CASA) program, with engineer Eric Lyons and innovation manager Apoorva Bajaj, were on hand Oct. 28 as the first CASA weather radar unit was installed by helicopter atop a building at the University of Texas Arlington (UTA).
 
Philips said, “This represents a great technical and organizational milestone for the project.” Over the next several months it will see three more CASA units installed at partner institutions in the Dallas-Fort Worth metro area, with support from the North Texas

Students given financial need and merit awards for study abroad

This fall, 40 students are venturing into the world to study with extra financial support through the campus’s International Programs Office. 
 
The Scott Academic Merit Scholarship was awarded to 15 students with a minimum 3.8 grade point average who are studying abroad during the 2012-13 academic year. The awards range from $500 to $1,000 for each student. The Scott Academic Merit Scholarship was given by former chancellor David Scott and his wife Kathleen, strong supporters of study abroad for UMass students. 
 
In addition, the Education Abroad Scholarship was awarded to 25 students who

Ceremonies mark launch of construction of new classroom building

University officials last week celebrated the launch of construction of a $95 million New Academic Classroom Building (NACB) that will provide state-of-the-art academic space and create a new hub of student activity near the Campus Center and Student Union. The event was held Oct. 26 in the Student Union Ballroom.
 
The four-story, 171,500-square-foot building located off North Pleasant Street at the north end of the Campus Pond is scheduled for completion in the spring of 2014.
 
Chancellor Kumble R.

Campus closes in advance of Hurricane Sandy's arrival

With forecasters predicting heavy rain, strong winds, power outages and flooding in the region due to Hurricane Sandy, university officials announced that UMass Amherst and its off-campus facilities around the state will be closed Oct. 29.

The closing notice was communicated to students, staff and faculty through broadcast e-mails, text messages, the recorded emergency closing telephone line and via the campus's website. The notice was also distributed to local television and radio outlets.

The closure decision came after Gov.

Stockbridge student awarded new GreenDependence Scholarship from National Grid Foundation

Derek Silva, a second-year Stockbridge School of Agriculture student from Lowell studying sustainable food and farming, is the first recipient of a new scholarship established by the National Grid Foundation to encourage minority students to pursue green-related careers.

 
Funded with a $10,000 gift from the foundation, the GreenDependence Scholarship provides financial assistance to a qualified student interested in sustainability who wants to apply knowledge and skills through a community service-learning project.

Libraries launch Digital Scholarship & Consultation Services

The Libraries are now offering Digital Scholarship & Consultation Services (DSCS) to support the creation, curation, management and long-term access and discovery of digital content.

The consultation-based service is targeted to faculty and researchers, but is open to the entire campus community. Library staff will advise on digital collections in support of instructional and research activities and are available to answer questions, help strategize on projects, and outline options to meet goals.
 
The scope of Digital Scholarship & Consultation Services ranges from one-on-one consultations

Civil and environmental engineers to dedicate new structural testing facility Oct. 27

Campus officials will dedicate the Robert B. Brack Structural Testing Facility on Tillson Way behind the campus police station on Saturday, Oct. 27 at 3 p.m. Chancellor Kumble R. Subbaswamy will lead the ceremony, joined by various leaders from the College of Engineering.

The new test facility will allow researchers from the Civil and Environmental Engineering department (CEE) to test full-size structural elements such as beams and girders. It is also intended to help the department by attracting top-flight students and sponsored research.

The roofed testing center contains a “strong floor”

Helfer receives $1.3 million to study hearing and aging

Karen Helfer, associate professor of Communication Disorders, has received a five year, $1.3 million grant from the NIH’s National Institute for Deafness and Other Communication Disorders to conduct a series of studies to determine what is going on in difficult listening situations where hearing aids often don’t help, and explore ways to assist millions of older Americans to do better.

Though most people with hearing loss are treated with hearing aids, the devices are not very helpful in situations where many people are talking at once or there is background noise, says Helfer, an expert in

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