University of Massachusetts Amherst - Office of News & Information

Sunday, February 12, 2012

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UMass Amherst Biologist Wins Major Grant to Study Environment’s Effects on Evolution of Survival Traits

February 10, 2012

AMHERST, Mass. - Advances in studying genes mean that scientists in evolutionary developmental biology or "evo-devo" can now explain more clearly than ever before how bats got wings, the turtle got its shell and blind cave fish lost their eyes, says University of Massachusetts Amherst evolutionary biologist Craig Albertson. More...



UMass Athletics Announces $33 Million Fundraising Campaign

February 10, 2012

Aggressive fundraising campaign bolstered by creation of The Minutemen Club

AMHERST, Mass. - University of Massachusetts Director of Athletics John McCutcheon has announced the kick-off of a major $33 million fundraising campaign aimed at enhancing capital, scholarship, endowment and sport specific goals over the next six years. As part of the campaign, the Athletic Department has also announced the renaming and re-organization of the annual fund for student-athlete scholarship support to The Minutemen Club in an effort to bolster and reflect UMass’ commitment to success. More...



Anyone Can Learn to Be More Inventive, Says UMass Amherst Psychology Researcher Who Studies Problem Solving

February 9, 2012

AMHERST, Mass. - There will always be a wild and unpredictable quality to creativity and invention, says Anthony McCaffrey, a cognitive psychology researcher at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, because an "Aha moment" is rare and reaching it means overcoming formidable mental obstacles. But after studying common roadblocks to problem-solving, he has developed a toolkit for enhancing anyone’s skills. More...



UMass Amherst Professor Peg Riley to Speak at Science Cafe Program on Antibiotics

February 9, 2012

AMHERST, Mass. - The Science Cafe, a community series produced by graduate students at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, continues Monday, Feb. 27 at 5:30 p.m. at Esselon Cafe in Hadley with "Antibiotics: Resistance is Futile." More...



UMass Amherst Team Offers New Integrated Building Model to Improve Success of Fish Farming Operations

February 8, 2012

AMHERST, Mass. - Today’s "locavore" movement with its emphasis on eating more locally-produced food is a natural fit for fruits and vegetables in nearly every region, but few entrepreneurs have dared to apply the concept to fish farming. Those who have ventured to turn a vacant barn or garage into an aquaculture business have too often been defeated by high energy and feed costs, building-related woes and serious environmental problems, says aquaculture researcher Andy Danylchuk at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. More...



UMass Amherst Moves Quickly to Discipline Students Involved in Super Bowl Disturbance

February 7, 2012

AMHERST, Mass. - The Dean of Students at the University of Massachusetts Amherst today announced the university is moving quickly to discipline students involved in a disturbance following the Super Bowl. More...



Former Chancellor David K. Scott to Lecture on Learning at UMass Amherst

February 7, 2012

AMHERST, Mass. - Former University of Massachusetts Amherst Chancellor David K. Scott will speak on "Multiple Modes of Inquiry and the Nature of Reality" on Tuesday, Feb. 14 at 6:30 p.m. in the Campus Center Auditorium at UMass Amherst. More...



Students Face Sanctions Following Super Bowl Arrests

February 6, 2012

AMHERST, Mass. -- The Dean of Students at the University of Massachusetts Amherst will immediately launch a disciplinary review of 13 students arrested Sunday night during a campus disturbance following the Super Bowl. More...



UMass Amherst Student Inspired by ‘Green Campus’ and Sustainability Activities Wins National Award

February 2, 2012

AMHERST, Mass. - Inspired by her three years devoted to sustainability activities and "greening the campus" at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, recent graduate Rachel Dutton of Burlington won first prize and $500 in a national writing contest, as announced recently by the National Association of College Auxiliary Services’ (NACAS). More...



UMass Amherst Student Permaculture Garden Committee Wins National Award for Engaging Students on and Off Campus

January 30, 2012

AMHERST, Mass. - The University of Massachusetts Amherst Permaculture Garden Committee may be small, but the super-size dedication of its 12 students and three staff members has gained the campus national recognition for offering students’ hands-on learning and experience in sustainable land use. More...

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UMass Research

UMass Amherst Biochemists Develop Promising New Treatment Direction for Rare Metabolic Diseases

AMHERST, Mass. - A research team led by biochemist Scott Garman at the University of Massachusetts Amherst has discovered a key interaction at the heart of a promising new treatment for a rare childhood metabolic disorder known as Fabry disease. The discovery will help understanding of other protein-folding disorders such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and Huntington’s diseases, as well. Findings are featured as the cover story in the current issue of Chemistry & Biology.

UMass Amherst Researcher Studies Hurricane Irene Impact on Lower Connecticut River, Seeks Clues to Prehistoric Valley Contours

AMHERST, Mass. - Two days before Hurricane Irene hit western New England last August and dumped torrential rains far up the Connecticut River watershed, University of Massachusetts Amherst geoscientist Jon Woodruff hastily launched a canoe to take baseline sediment sample cores under ponds and coves in the lower river’s floodplain, from Northampton’s Oxbow Lake south to Long Island Sound.

UMass Amherst Researchers Test a Drug-Exercise Program Designed to Prevent Type 2 Diabetes

AMHERST, Mass. - Kinesiology researcher Barry Braun of the University of Massachusetts Amherst and colleagues recently reported unexpected results of a study suggesting that exercise and one of the most commonly prescribed drugs for diabetes, metformin, each improves insulin resistance when used alone, but when used together, metformin blunted the full effect of a 12-week exercise program in pre-diabetic men and women.

Studying Bat Skulls, UMass Amherst Evolutionary Biologist and International Team Discover How Species Evolve

AMHERST, Mass. - A new study involving bat skulls, bite force measurements and scat samples collected by an international team of evolutionary biologists is helping to solve a nagging question of evolution: Why some groups of animals develop scores of different species over time while others evolve only a few. Their findings appear in the current issue of Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences.

UMass Amherst Astronomers Using Advanced Equipment aboard Hubble to Reveal Galaxies’ Most Elusive Secrets

AMHERST, Mass. - New, high-precision equipment orbiting Earth aboard the Hubble Space Telescope is now sending such rich data back to astronomers, some feel they are crossing the final frontier toward understanding galaxy evolution, says Todd Tripp, leader of the team at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

UMass Amherst Research Says Online Communication Boosts Lying and E-mail is the Medium that Contains the Most Lies

AMHERST, Mass. - A new study by University of Massachusetts Amherst researchers finds that communication using computers for instant messaging and e-mail increases lying compared to face-to-face conversations, and that e-mail messages are most likely to contain lies. The findings, by Robert S. Feldman, professor of psychology and dean of the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences, and Mattityahu Zimbler, a graduate student, are published in the October issue of the Journal of Applied Social Psychology.

UMass Amherst Research Suggests Sleep Does Not Benefit Learning in Older Adults as it Does for Young People

AMHERST, Mass. - Neuroscientists have long known that memory, sleep quality and sleep duration deteriorate with age, yet sleep enhances two major types of learning in young people. To date, few investigations have looked at whether cognitive decline is related to decreases in sleep quality and quantity in older adults. Now, preliminary results of the latest study in a series conducted by sleep researcher Rebecca Spencer and her doctoral student Laura Kurdziel at the University of Massachusetts Amherst suggest that sleep does not enhance either motor skills or sequential learning in older adults.

UMass Amherst Wins Major Grant to Host $7.5 Million Northeast Climate Science Center

AMHERST, Mass. - Today in Washington, D.C., Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar announced that the University of Massachusetts Amherst has been chosen to lead a consortium of seven universities and host a major new center, the Northeast Climate Science Center through a five-year, $7.5 million grant. It will support federal, state and other agencies by studying the effects of climate change on ecosystems, wildlife, water and other resources in the region.

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