AMHERST, Mass. – The buzz over green jobs and eco-friendly building will soon challenge architects, contractors, homeowners and retailers to define just what is meant by a “green” label and who is entitled to use it, according to organizers of a conference set for the University of Massachusetts Amherst campus in early November.

AMHERST, Mass. – Biochemists Lila Gierasch and Beena Krishnan at the University of Massachusetts Amherst have found a way to slip a fluorescent marker into one of a cell’s molecular machines so it lights up when it has formed the proper shape to carry out the cell’s “work orders.” The new technique should allow labeling of correctly folded proteins in a living cell or similar natural environment to study the origins of protein-misfolding diseases such as cystic fibrosis, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.

AMHERST, Mass. – Robert N. Pollin, economist and co-director of the Political Economy Research Institute at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, will give the first of four Distinguished Faculty Lectures on Monday, Oct. 20 at 4 p.m. in the Massachusetts Room of the Mullins Center. Pollin’s lecture is titled, “How Green Growth Can Revive the Economy.” The event is free and open to the public.

AMHERST, Mass. – The University of Massachusetts Amherst has announced its 2008-09 Distinguished Faculty Lecture Series. All lectures are at 4 p.m. in the Massachusetts Room of the Mullins Center and are free and open to the public.