Students from Two Rivers Community School and Kinderwood School in Boone, participated in the annual National History Day competition in March. The competition has students in grades 6 to 12 conduct extensive historical research on a selected theme, then present their findings to a panel of judges. Andrea Burns, associate professor in App State’s Department of History, made a push for Watauga County students to compete in the event for the first time, offering research assistance to participating students.

With the recent collapse of the Silicon Valley Bank on March 10, concerns still remain over the stability of the global financial system. In this article, two finance scholars, Brian Blank of Mississippi State and Brandy Hadley of App State, help readers better understand what U.S. regulators did to remedy the situation, the impact of their decisions and what problems still remain.

A recent viral Facebook post claims that mushroom DNA is closer to humans than plants. Experts, including John Walker, professor in App State's Department of Biology, confirm that this is true. In this article, Walker highlights the major overlapping characteristics shared by fungi and animals that plants do not have.

Dr. Marketa Zimova, assistant professor of biology at App State, explores how climate change has negatively impacted mountain hares in the Scottish Highlands. Zimova explains that mountain hares have turncoat capabilities — changing from a brown coat to a white coat during winter months to blend in with the snow — but with less snow each year, they are becoming more easily exposed to predators.