https://phys.org/ en-us Latest news from University of Massachusetts Amherst An interdisciplinary team of researchers led by the University of Massachusetts Amherst have published work in the journal Science calling into question the conclusions of a widely reported study—published in Science in 2023—finding the social platform's algorithms successfully filtered out untrustworthy news surrounding the 2020 election and were not major drivers of misinformation. https://phys.org/news/2024-09-team-debunks-facebook-news-algorithm.html Social Sciences Political science Thu, 26 Sep 2024 14:00:01 EDT news646565823 New research from the University of Massachusetts Amherst reveals links between menopausal hot flashes, cold experienced during childhood, and increased activity in brown adipose tissue (BAT), which is a specialized fat that regulates body temperature by generating heat and activates before the body begins to shiver. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2024-09-links-hot-brown-adipose-tissue.html Obstetrics & gynaecology Endocrinology & Metabolism Thu, 19 Sep 2024 12:17:27 EDT news645967043 A new study by University of Massachusetts Amherst researchers demonstrates the effectiveness of homemade play putty at reading brain, heart, muscle and eye activity. Published in Device, the research outlines the conductive properties of this material, so-named "squishy circuits." https://techxplore.com/news/2024-09-play-putty-body-electric-field.html Engineering Electronics & Semiconductors Wed, 18 Sep 2024 11:00:01 EDT news645870681 A major new review of evidence by a team of scientists, including a University of Massachusetts Amherst public health researcher, has identified the three best strategies for quitting smoking: https://medicalxpress.com/news/2024-09-reveals-effective-ways.html Health Addiction Thu, 05 Sep 2024 13:36:03 EDT news644762161 New research published in the Journal of Sport and Health Science and led by the University of Massachusetts Amherst shows that super spikes, scientifically described as advanced footwear technology (AFT) spikes, can give runners about a 2% edge in middle-distance track races, like the 800- and 1,500-meters. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2024-09-super-spikes-track.html Sports medicine & Kinesiology Wed, 04 Sep 2024 15:57:42 EDT news644684259 New research from the Mechanical and Industrial Engineering Department at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, in collaboration with the Elaine Marieb Center for Nursing and Engineering Innovation, is helping to identify barriers to physical activity in nurses. Published in PLOS ONE, the study reports that the key factors influencing exercise include intrinsic motivation, certain types of social support, certain demographic identifiers and the use of health-tracking technology. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2024-08-factors-physical-nursing-students.html Medical economics Sat, 31 Aug 2024 06:07:22 EDT news644303231 In the latest of three online gambling surveys conducted by the University of Massachusetts Amherst, monthly gamblers in Massachusetts reported an increase in gambling intensity and gambling harms. In addition, their attitudes toward gambling have grown more negative. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2024-08-problem-gambling-monthly-gamblers-massachusetts.html Addiction Thu, 29 Aug 2024 17:11:04 EDT news644170262 Researchers at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and UMass Chan Medical School have demonstrated in mice a new method to combat pancreatic cancer. The study, published in Science Translational Medicine, outlines the synergistic effects of a novel nanoparticle drug-delivery system to activate an immune pathway in combination with tumor-targeting agents. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2024-08-pancreatic-cancer-treatment-effective-tumors.html Oncology & Cancer Immunology Wed, 28 Aug 2024 14:00:02 EDT news644053306 The bananas in your supermarket and that you eat for breakfast are facing functional extinction due to the disease Fusarium wilt of banana (FWB), caused by a fungal pathogen called Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. cubense (Foc) tropical race 4 (TR4). https://phys.org/news/2024-08-banana-apocalypse-biologists-key-survival.html Cell & Microbiology Agriculture Fri, 16 Aug 2024 05:00:01 EDT news642954421 Digital wallets—like Apple Pay, Google Pay and PayPal—are projected to be used by more than 5.3 billion people by 2026. While these wallets promote increased security over traditional payment methods, reliance on outdated authentication methods and prioritizing convenience over security leaves digital wallets vulnerable, according to new research led by computer engineers at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. https://techxplore.com/news/2024-08-reveals-loophole-digital-wallet-rightful.html Security Wed, 14 Aug 2024 16:06:20 EDT news642870375 New research from the University of Massachusetts Amherst shows that programming robots to create their own teams and voluntarily wait for their teammates results in faster task completion, with the potential to improve manufacturing, agriculture and warehouse automation. The study is published in 2024 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA). https://techxplore.com/news/2024-08-method-orchestrating-successful-collaboration-robots.html Robotics Machine learning & AI Tue, 13 Aug 2024 09:43:04 EDT news642760982 Anyone who's tried to neatly gather a fitted sheet can tell you: folding is hard. Get it wrong with your laundry and the result can be a crumpled, wrinkled mess of fabric, but when folding fails among the approximately 7,000 proteins with an origami-like complexity that regulate essential cellular functions, the result can lead to one of a multitude of serious diseases ranging from emphysema and cystic fibrosis to Alzheimer's disease. https://phys.org/news/2024-08-body-quality-protein-treatments.html Molecular & Computational biology Mon, 12 Aug 2024 15:00:01 EDT news642673981 Which packaging type for a 12-ounce, single-serve container of orange juice would you choose as the most sustainable option: https://phys.org/news/2024-07-glass-bottle-orange-juice-planet.html Environment Tue, 30 Jul 2024 13:55:25 EDT news641566518 New research led by the University of Massachusetts Amherst shows that super spikes, scientifically described as advanced footwear technology (AFT) spikes, can give runners about a 2% edge in middle-distance track races, like the 800- and 1,500-meters. https://phys.org/news/2024-07-super-spikes-track.html Other Mon, 29 Jul 2024 16:01:06 EDT news641487544 Scientists at the University of Massachusetts Amherst-based New England Center of Excellence in Vector-Borne Diseases (NEWVEC) have published new findings on Powassan virus, an emerging tick-borne illness that can cause life-threatening encephalitis and meningitis. The study reports that people bitten by black-legged (or deer) ticks that tested positive for the virus did not show signs or symptoms of disease. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2024-07-people-sick-infected-powassan-virus.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Health Thu, 25 Jul 2024 16:58:32 EDT news641145509 A new global assessment of scientific literature led by researchers at the University of Massachusetts Amherst finds that nature-based solutions (NbS) are an economically effective method to mitigate risks from a range of disasters—from floods and hurricanes to heat waves and landslides—which are only expected to intensify as Earth continues to warm. https://phys.org/news/2024-07-nature-based-solutions-disaster-climate.html Environment Tue, 16 Jul 2024 15:28:04 EDT news640362482 Social media offers a treasure trove of data for researchers to understand how organizations and individuals use the technology to communicate with and grow their base of followers. However, manually analyzing the content can be time consuming or, in some cases, simply impossible due to the volume of data. While machine-learning models can help, they present their own set of challenges. https://techxplore.com/news/2024-07-extreme-boosting-ai-social-media.html Machine learning & AI Tue, 16 Jul 2024 13:10:26 EDT news640354224 Informal political polls conducted on X/Twitter during both the 2016 and 2020 U.S. presidential elections were significantly skewed by questionable votes, many of which may have been purchased from troll farms. https://phys.org/news/2024-07-social-media-polls-deliberately-skew.html Political science Tue, 16 Jul 2024 13:10:14 EDT news640354211 While some governments have imposed a tax on unhealthy ingredients in processed foods, others have opted for an outright ban. A recent study led by University of Massachusetts Amherst economists sheds new light on how these differing approaches affect consumers, creating a framework that can be used to assess policies aiming to improve eating habits. The study is published in Economic Inquiry. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2024-07-trans-fat-microwaveable-popcorn-tax.html Health Medical economics Thu, 11 Jul 2024 13:50:03 EDT news639924601 University of Massachusetts Amherst researchers have discovered that the anatomical adaptation helping weedy rice varieties to proliferate is not, as previously believed, confined only to these pest varieties. The research, published recently in the Journal of Experimental Botany, shows that despite 10,000 years of human cultivation, a cell tissue that allows rice plants to easily drop their seeds remains a feature in nearly all cultivated varieties of the grain, though to a lesser degree and with much more variation. https://phys.org/news/2024-07-rice-wild-humans-inadvertently-weedy.html Evolution Agriculture Wed, 10 Jul 2024 04:24:14 EDT news639804250 Following police killings, residents of the surrounding community are less likely to engage with their local government, according to a new study co-authored by a University of Massachusetts Amherst researcher. https://phys.org/news/2024-07-police-discourage-engagement-local.html Social Sciences Political science Mon, 01 Jul 2024 12:20:12 EDT news639055209 The Supreme Court ruled in 2023 that rivers that only flow in response to weather events—called ephemeral streams—do not fall under the protection of the Clean Water Act. Research published in the journal Science, led by University of Massachusetts Amherst recent doctoral graduate Craig Brinkerhoff and co-authored by colleagues at Yale University, suggests that this now leaves many U.S. waterways vulnerable to pollution. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-rivers-vulnerable-pollution.html Environment Thu, 27 Jun 2024 14:00:01 EDT news638692788 A device for monitoring sweat and hydration based on a rigorous study from the University of Massachusetts Amherst is commercially available for the first time and ready to help protect "industrial athletes" from dehydration and its role in workplace accidents. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2024-06-wearable-machine-workers-dehydration.html Sports medicine & Kinesiology Biomedical technology Mon, 24 Jun 2024 15:31:01 EDT news638461851 An international team of scientists has recently found that non-native species are expanding their ranges many orders of magnitude faster than native ones, in large part due to inadvertent human help. Even seemingly sedentary non-native plants are moving at three times the speed of their native counterparts in a race where, because of the rapid pace of climate change and its effect on habitat, speed matters. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-native-animals-ranges-faster-species.html Plants & Animals Ecology Wed, 19 Jun 2024 12:15:03 EDT news638018101 New research from the University of Massachusetts Amherst shows that programming robots to create their own teams and voluntarily wait for their teammates results in faster task completion, with the potential to improve manufacturing, agriculture and warehouse automation. https://techxplore.com/news/2024-06-method-orchestrating-successful-collaboration-robots.html Robotics Machine learning & AI Mon, 17 Jun 2024 12:19:19 EDT news637845556 They bedeviled ancient Greek navies, helped shipwreck Christopher Columbus, aided in the sinking of the Spanish Armada and caused the wharves in San Francisco Bay to collapse into the sea, but until now, scientists have been unable to pinpoint exactly how shipworms—a family of mollusks—are able to cause such damage. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-year-mystery-destructive-shipworm.html Plants & Animals Cell & Microbiology Wed, 05 Jun 2024 13:20:47 EDT news636812442 A team of scientists led by François Lapointe, a research associate at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, has combined paleoclimatic data from the last 2,000 years with powerful computer modeling and in-the-field research on lake sediments and tree rings to show that an understudied phenomenon, known as atmospheric blocking, has long influenced temperature swings in the Arctic. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-arctic-heavily-atmospheric-blocking-scientists.html Earth Sciences Environment Mon, 03 Jun 2024 09:42:04 EDT news636626522 Researchers from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and Smith College have developed a new method to assess the equity implications of carbon taxes, which are among economists' favored solutions to address the looming threat of climate change. https://phys.org/news/2024-05-method-equity-implications-carbon-taxes.html Social Sciences Economics & Business Thu, 30 May 2024 13:46:04 EDT news636295562 Collaborative research led by the University of Massachusetts Amherst outlines five essential themes to promote equitable and sustainable urban tree planting initiatives (TPIs), which is especially timely given the $1.5 billion for urban and community forestry contained in the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act. https://phys.org/news/2024-05-strategies-successful-urban-tree.html Plants & Animals Ecology Fri, 24 May 2024 13:07:04 EDT news635774822 What features does a robotic guide dog need? Ask the blind, say the authors of a recent paper. Led by researchers at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, a study identifying how to develop robot guide dogs with insights from guide dog users and trainers won a Best Paper Award at CHI 2024: Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI). https://techxplore.com/news/2024-05-optimize-dog-robots-visually-impaired.html Robotics Engineering Thu, 16 May 2024 14:30:10 EDT news635088606