Research measures disease impact on elusive mountain rabbit

Researchers are concerned that the Appalachian cottontail’s population may be impacted by a fast-spreading virus, RHDV2. 

Feeling the forest: Forest therapy offers opportunity for restoration

With my eyes closed, I can’t see the patchwork of brown leaves and fallen twigs covering the forest floor before me, the pale green lattice of lichen peppering the trunks of upward-reaching trees, or the waters of Fisher Creek rushing over a bed of weathered rocks.

An artist's legacy: New database contributes to study of George Masa's photography

Angelyn Whitmeyer might be the last person you would expect to contribute to ongoing research surrounding a Japanese photographer who found inspiration in the Great Smoky Mountains.

Engineering and athletics team up with Penn State on head impact research at WCU

Clayton Bardall, a graduate student in Western Carolina University’s Engineering Technology program and tight end for WCU’s football team, recently combined his two passions — football and engineering — on a project that will have a major impact on athletes for generations to come. 

Research to test for contamination near Canton mill property

A research project aiming to understand contamination levels outside the fence line of the now-shuttered Canton paper mill is likely to draw more than a quarter-million dollars in state funding to test soil, water and air samples nearby. 

Haywood native named new test farm superintendent

Haywood County native Kyle Miller has moved into the top leadership position at the Mountain Research Station in Waynesville, after his predecessor Will Morrow retired following more than 30 years with the N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.

Dress, drain and defend to prevent mosquito-borne illness

Recent cases of malaria in Texas and Florida have caused alarm about the potential for the disease to spread in warmer regions of the United States, but according to mosquito researcher Brian Byrd, a different type of mosquito-borne illness is of greater concern in Western North Carolina.

Document diversity at Deep Creek

Record wildlife and remove litter from the Deep Creek area of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park near Bryson City during a family-friendly event Friday, July 14, and Saturday, July 15.

Word from the Smokies: An annual checkup for salamanders

Pay a visit to Chimneys Picnic Area in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park during the first days of spring, and chances are you’ll hear the cheerful sounds of families enjoying meals together, downy woodpeckers drumming on the bark of deciduous trees and a few small groups of students talking intently amongst themselves as they carefully turn over rocks and leaves. 

Microplastics researcher to speak in Highlands

Learn about plastic pollution and the threat it poses to freshwater and marine ecosystems during a free lecture at 6 p.m. Thursday, June 29, at the Highlands Nature Center in Highlands.

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