UTA In The News — Wednesday, March 3, 2021
Emerging cancer treatments
Jon Weidanz, UT Arlington’s associate vice president for research, wrote a commentary for the journal Science about emerging protein-based immunotherapies that could lead to highly effective “off-the-shelf” cancer treatments for more patients, Technology.org, Technology Networks and ExBulletin reported. Researchers have shown in mice that designer antibodies can curb the growth of tumors by targeting two of cancer’s most infamous offenders—the proteins RAS and p53. The original article can be seen here.
Physics for kids
Karen Jo Matsler, UT Arlington master teacher in the College of Science, said more children want to learn quantum mechanics, APS News reported in a story about the effort to demystify the word “quantum” and help get more students interested earlier. APS is the American Physical Society, a nonprofit membership organization working to advance and diffuse the knowledge of physics.
Coach Garner honored
While the Americans with Disabilities Act was signed into law more than 30 years ago, Doug Garner, Adapted Sports and Recreation assistant director for UT Arlington’s Campus Recreation and head wheelchair basketball coach for the Movin' Mavs, has been working with the community for much longer, the Dallas Business Journal reported. Garner is being honored in the Dallas Business Journal’s first Leaders in Diversity Awards (with an extra distinction of Champion for People with Disabilities). Winners will be recognized at a virtual event on Thursday, March 4.
Lab assessment after big freeze
Chemists across the state of Texas are assessing damage to their experiments, laboratories and equipment after a severe winter storm that began Feb. 13, C&EN (Chemical & Engineering News) reported. Kayunta Johnson-Winters, a UT Arlington biochemistry professor, said that all her students lost power and water. “It was hard to watch my students struggle and there was nothing I could do to offer them comfort nor solutions,” she says. Grocery stores were nearly empty, she adds. “I have never seen anything like it.”
New state bill would increase campus polling locations
A new state bill would mandate that colleges with more than 10,000 students would have to host at least two campus polling sites, San Antonio’s KSAT ABC 12 reported. The article quoted Amber Mills, a recent UT Arlington graduate, who said, “My very first election to vote in was in 2016, in which I voted on a college campus, as well as in the 2020 election because it was there and it was convenient. A lot of students, they don’t have transportation to get off campus, they don’t have time in between classes or homework or their job to get to a polling location.”
UTA donor dies
Paul Andrews, founder and CEO of TTI Inc., died Sunday, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported. An avid car collector, Andrews helped establish the Dr. Bob Woods Chair in Automotive Engineering at UT Arlington.