university of massachusetts amherst Archives

Forget hurricane activity: Coastal sea levels to rise regardless

Solving chromosomes’ structure: It’s in the loops

Why our black hole is a finicky eater: Material ejects itself before black hole can devour it

Toxicologist says NAS panel ‘misled the world’ when adopting radiation exposure guidelines

System squeezes 40% more petrochemicals from wood

Researchers find best routes to self-assembling 3-D shapes

Material chemists and engineers would love to figure out how to create self-assembling shells, containers or structures that could be used as tiny drug-carrying containers or to build 3-D sensors and electronic de…

Lying is more common when we email

A high-yield biomass alternative to petroleum for industrial chemicals

AMHERST, Mass. — A team of University of Massachusetts Amherst chemical engineers report in today’s issue of Science that they have developed a way to produce high-volume chemical feedstocks including benzene, toluene, xylenes and olefins fro…

Study Reconsiders Formation of Antarctic Ice Sheet

A new study posits an alternative theory regarding why Antarctica suddenly became glaciated 34 million years ago. The study challenges previous thinking about why the ice sheet formed and holds ramifications for the next several hundred years as greenhouse gases continue to rise. “Scientists have long known that Antarctica was not always covered in a sheet of ice. Rather, the continent was once highly vegetated and populated with dinosaurs, with perhaps just a few Alpine glaciers and small ice caps in the continental interior,” the study’s lead researcher said.

Gene Identified for Obesity, Physical Activity, Sex Behaviors in Mice

A team led by University of Massachusetts Amherst researcher Deborah J. Good has identified a gene that appears to play a role in obesity, physical activity, and sex behaviors in mice. Good works with so-called “knock-out” mice, which have a specific gene deleted. Scientists then monitor the animals for changes in their physiology and behavior, in an effort to determine the gene’s role. Her findings are detailed in the current issue of the journal Physiology and Behavior. The project is funded with a four-year, $1 million grant from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, and a two-year, $70,000 grant from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, both of the National Institutes of Health.