https://phys.org/ en-us Latest news from University of Massachusetts Dartmouth In a groundbreaking new study, researchers led by the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth have shown that players of the online citizen science game Foldit can successfully refine and improve previously solved protein structures—enhancing the accuracy of data housed in the Protein Data Bank (PDB), one of the world's most important scientific resources. The paper is published in the journal Acta Crystallographica Section D Structural Biology. https://phys.org/news/2025-10-citizen-science-game-advances-global.html Biotechnology Wed, 15 Oct 2025 10:02:24 EDT news679741340 A study led by UMass Dartmouth School for Marine Science & Technology (SMAST) Ph.D. student Siddhant Kerhalkar sheds new light on the recovery of ocean thermal structures following cyclone passage—an area of oceanography that has remained largely unexplored due to the scarcity of direct shipboard observations. This research enhances our understanding of how the ocean recovers after cyclones, which is essential for improving climate models and predicting extreme weather events. https://phys.org/news/2025-02-insights-cyclone-recovery-advance-extreme.html Earth Sciences Thu, 27 Feb 2025 16:27:03 EST news659896021 UMass Dartmouth Ph.D. students Tousif Islam (lead author) and Feroz H. Shaik, alongside Assistant Professor Vijay Varma and Associate Professor Scott Field (mathematics), recently published findings, on the pre-print server arXiv, that include the identification of a binary black hole system that was most likely formed through dynamical capture and whose collision produced the second fastest-moving black hole observed (denoted GW191109 by astronomers). https://phys.org/news/2023-10-fast-moving-black-hole-formation-binaries.html Astronomy Mon, 23 Oct 2023 10:08:04 EDT news617274482 A comprehensive new report published today by a team of 20 researchers representing four University of Massachusetts system campuses provides valuable insight into the various climate resilience approaches being undertaken by municipalities across Massachusetts. https://phys.org/news/2021-11-comprehensive-outlook-climate-resilience-massachusetts.html Environment Tue, 09 Nov 2021 11:05:05 EST news555678301 A few years ago, Dr. Arghavan Louhghalam, Assistant Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at UMass Dartmouth, started studying the relationship between road designs and conditions and excess fuel consumption and environmental impact. Using mechanistic models, the team established that there is a relationship between carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and climate change. https://phys.org/news/2020-04-app-combat-climate.html Environment Fri, 17 Apr 2020 07:35:46 EDT news506327743 The same professor who received national attention for discovering that PlayStation 3 (PS3) technology could be configured into low-cost supercomputers has now demonstrated that the processor found in hundreds of millions of cell phones has enormous scientific computing potential. The impact of this discovery could have far-reaching impacts for scientists around the world, who have a wealth of curiosity and ingenuity but sometimes lack access to expensive standard supercomputing technology. https://phys.org/news/2015-08-supercomputer-palm.html Hardware Thu, 06 Aug 2015 07:50:01 EDT news358064655 A recent study released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that hepatitis C cases across four Appalachian states—Kentucky, Tennessee, West Virginia, and Virginia—more than tripled between 2006 and 2012. The study is the first from the CDC to link the rise in hepatitis C to an increase in injection drug use and raises concern that a single person could become the "Typhoid Mary of HIV." https://medicalxpress.com/news/2015-06-qa-hepatitis-epidemic-appalachian-states.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Mon, 08 Jun 2015 06:09:35 EDT news352962567 The evolution and development of structures as diverse as limbs, fingers, teeth, somites and vertebrae may have more in common than once believed, according to a new study by UMass Dartmouth Biology faculty member Kathryn Kavanagh, PhD, and UC San Francisco (UCSF) School of Medicine Assistant Professor Nathan Young, PhD. https://phys.org/news/2015-04-patterns-evolution-species.html Evolution Thu, 02 Apr 2015 07:11:07 EDT news347177432 UMass Dartmouth School for Marine Science & Technology's (SMAST) ocean glider, aptly named Blue, will begin a 500 km trip to study water properties along a triangle in in the Middle Atlantic Bight between Cape Cod to Cape Hatteras, tomorrow, October 28, 2014, at 7 a.m., from the Fairhaven Shipyard. SMAST researchers, led by Dr. Wendell Brown, will venture from the Shipyard aboard the Lucky Lady with glider Blue, which is part of a 'Glider Palooza' fleet being deployed by the Mid Atlantic Regional Association Ocean Observing System (MARACOOS). The gliders' mission is to gather data on the coastal ocean environment so scientists can better understand the dynamics that affect ocean habitats. https://phys.org/news/2014-10-ocean-glider-properties-middle-atlantic.html Earth Sciences Tue, 28 Oct 2014 07:20:01 EDT news333698741 UMass Dartmouth School for Marine Science & Technology (SMAST) researchers, led by Dr. Changsheng Chen, have helped develop two new operational forecast systems that will significantly benefit a range of maritime activities including search and rescue, commercial and recreational boating, fishing and sailing, shipment and vessel transit planning, storm tides, and hazardous material tracking. The new systems for the Northwest and Northeast Gulf of Mexico will produce more accurate, current forecast guidance for users within the navigation community. https://phys.org/news/2014-09-team-northern-gulf-mexico.html Environment Tue, 30 Sep 2014 06:40:02 EDT news331277220 The developmental rules for forming a foot just got a little simpler. New research led by UMass Dartmouth Biology faculty member Dr. Kathryn Kavanagh and Harvard Medical School Professor Cliff Tabin, joined by Professor Uri Alon and Oren Shoval, of Israel's Weizmann Institute of Science's Department of Molecular Cell Biology, Akinori Kan of Harvard Medical School's Department of Genetics, and UMass Dartmouth's Dr. Benjamin Winslow and graduate student Brian Leary, studied the toe bones, or phalanges, of animals in order to test an idea that has been debated by evolutionary biologists for centuries—that the developmental process itself can guide evolution. https://phys.org/news/2013-11-gains-toehold-skeletal-evolution.html Archaeology Mon, 04 Nov 2013 05:09:40 EST news302764110