The bacterium that causes cholera has been a bit of a mystery to scientists since it was first identified in the mid-1800s. Dr. Ece Karatan, an associate professor in Appalachian State University’s Department of Biology, hopes to unravel some of those mysteries, and in the process find ways to help mitigate the effects of the potentially deadly disease most common in Third World countries and areas with poor sanitation.

Children who play on an athletics field at Appalachian State University’s Camp Broadstone in Valle Crucis may not realize the history that lies beneath their feet. This summer, university students in Appalachian’s archeology field school found a 4,000-year-old cooking hearth and a small vessel nearly as old about two feet underground.

Dr. Timothy J. Smith’s project grew out of a Fulbright grant Smith received in 2001 to conduct dissertation field work in Sololá, where he studied the customs, traditions and practices of the town’s indigenous government.