Feature Channels: Fall

• share
• favorite_border

Going away to preschool or kindergarten for the first time can be scary for children.

• share
• favorite_border

Western Carolina University researchers are using geographic information systems technology and radio transmitters to track timber rattlesnakes this fall to determine whether new mountain subdivisions and road-building are pushing an animal listed as a "species of special concern" toward the endangered list.

• share
• favorite_border

A long spell of dry weather during the spring and summer could provide some of the most brilliant colors seen in several years for leaf-lookers headed to the mountains of Western North Carolina this autumn, says Western Carolina University's fearless fall foliage forecaster..

• share
• favorite_border

September is National Gynecologic Cancer Awareness Month. A breast-ovarian cancer gene test is a blood test that shows whether a woman has breast cancer or ovarian cancer gene mutations, known as BRCA 1 or 2, which increases a woman's chance of having breast, ovarian or other cancers.

• share
• favorite_border

As fall approaches, a variety of Central Michigan University faculty and staff experts are available to comment on topics related to the season, including its holidays, entertainment options, natural wonders and health issues.

• share
• favorite_border

A new publication will be unveiled Nov. 1 for National Family Literacy Day that will help families make reading a ritual. This free material will especially help poor families, whose children hear 30 million fewer words by age 3 than their counterparts who live in households led by professionals.

• share
• favorite_border

Called "an open textbook of Appalachian folk life" by Southern Living magazine, Mountain Heritage Day is set for Sept. 28-29 on the campus of Western Carolina University.

• share
• favorite_border

Feature article on how involving children in grocery shopping can improve their eating habits.

• share
• favorite_border

Fall is the start of allergy season, and even for young children, symptoms can be severe. The American Academy of Pediatrics has allergy and asthma tips for parents to help their kids cope with and treat their symptoms.

• share
• favorite_border

A peak in ragweed and mold spores that comes with the onset of fall can aggravate symptoms in children with allergic asthma. So can the flu and other seasonal bugs in the autumn and winter months.

• share
• favorite_border

Even after paying for tuition, fees and other educational costs each fall, parents throughout the nation are also choosing to support their child's university through charitable contributions. What compels them to do so? Here are just a few reasons why parents give to their student's college.

• share
• favorite_border

Many parents and teachers are not aware of state laws allowing students to carry and self-administer life-saving asthma inhalers and auto-injectable epinephrine at school "“ or what they can do to ensure students know the "Right Way, Right Away" rules for responsible self-administration of these medicatations.

• share
• favorite_border

The trickiest thing about Halloween for many parents might be trying to provide treats that help make their children healthy as well as happy, but Tennessee Tech University nutrition professor Cathy Cunningham offers some healthy alternatives to trick-or-treats and party foods.

• share
• favorite_border

There's debate on whether students should fear the dreaded "Freshman Fifteen," but most evidence shows college freshmen do gain weight their first year in college. Tennessee Tech University nutrition professor Cathy Cunningham polled a class of junior level students, asking them ways to avoid the extra pounds, and came up with eight tips to help any student worried about college weight gain.

• share
• favorite_border

The challenges facing teachers seem to grow every year. In response to the increasing uncertainties in the classroom, faculty experts will provide insight on several current, critical issues impacting education: teacher retention, science and math instruction, Native American pedagogy, and techniques for teaching boys.

• share
• favorite_border

Transitioning to college is a huge move for students and their parents. Here, a higher ed veteran provides tips for what to do -- and not do -- as you make the move from high school to college.

• share
• favorite_border

Fall and winter are prime seasons not only for the flu bug, but for another bug as well"”the head louse. September is national Head Lice Awareness Month, and doctors from the Johns Hopkins Children's Center want to remind everyone that the "yuck" factor notwithstanding, head lice are a nuisance, not a health threat.

• share
• favorite_border

Heart attack and stroke are two major health concerns for Americans today. One early indicator is a disease that many people haven't heard of "“ Peripheral Arterial Disease (PAD). It is a vascular disease that affects between 12-20 percent of Americans age 65 or older. Legs For Life is a free screening program for PAD offered in September during National Vascular Disease Awareness Month.

• share
• favorite_border

This article offers a compilation of tips for the college visit process for both prospective students and their parents.

• share
• favorite_border

Although some people may spend part of the Labor Day weekend complaining about their bosses or about job burnout, most Americans are satisfied with their jobs, a new University of Chicago study shows.

• share
• favorite_border

Geisinger Health System can help make parents' lives easier this fall when it comes to keeping track of child immunization records.

• share
• favorite_border

Real-time tracking of the prostate gland During radiation treatment with intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT). This technology - called Calypso - works like a global positioning system for the prostate allowing for continuous monitoring of the gland during treatment for the most precise delivery of high-dose radiation.

• share
• favorite_border

You have diabetes and want to exercise. It is possible, says Dr. Stephen G. Rosen, Chief of Endocrinology & Metabolism at Pennsylvania Hospital. Diabetes affects 20.8 million people in the, about 7% of the population, according to the American Diabetes Association.

• share
• favorite_border

Very shortly, trick-or-treaters will be hitting the streets and heading to your doorstep. Following are some tips on how you can have not only a happy Halloween, but a safe one as well.

• share
• favorite_border

Setting the clocks back for daylight savings time means an extra hour of sleep and shorter days for most people, but for the thousands who suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), the shorter days and absence of daylight can actually cause depression.

• share
• favorite_border

By now you've heard the stories of E. Coli and other harmful bacteria finding their way into different foods and on to tables around the country. As many of us start planning for holiday meals, it's the perfect time to remember to keep food safety at the top of the menu.

• share
• favorite_border

There's no trick to treating your kids to a safe Halloween. The staff at UCSD Medical Center and the California Poison Control System-San Diego Division, located at UCSD Medical Center, offer the following safety precautions for parents to keep Halloween safe.

• share
• favorite_border

Every year, Fred Mueller compiles a sports list, but unlike popular pre-season picks or a glamorous hot-recruit sheet, nobody envies him this task. Some years the list is longer than others, but, Mueller said, there's no reason any kid should be on it.

• share
• favorite_border

Halloween is just around the corner. University of Maryland Associate Professor Susan Walker (Family Studies) offers some great tips for Halloween safety that focuses on community to ensure fun for everyone.

• share
• favorite_border

David Frankfurter, professor of religious studies and history at the University of New Hampshire, is available to discuss the positive aspects of dressing up in Halloween costumes and how for centuries, cultures have used costumes and monster masks to control their fears of demons. He is the author of Evil Incarnate: Rumors of Demonic Conspiracy and Satanic Abuse in History.

• share
• favorite_border

Halloween celebrations hold potential hazards for dogs and cats that can be avoided, says Lorraine Corriveau, wellness veterinarian at Purdue's School of Veterinary Medicine.

• share
• favorite_border

Don't worry, it's not too late. October and November are the perfect time to get that flu shot according to Dr. Daniel A. Hussar of the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy at University of the Sciences in Philadelphia. "The time is now to derive the optimum benefit," Hussar said of getting a flu shot.

• share
• favorite_border

Dr. William Robison, head of the Department of History and Political Science at Southeastern Louisiana University, for the past five years has presented an annual fun Halloween lecture that explores the relationship between serious history and pop culture. This year's lecture (October 31) is focused on Frankenstein ("It's Alive! The History of Frankenstein from Mary Shelley to Boris Karloff to Mel Brooks and Beyond").

• share
• favorite_border

From the University of Indianapolis' Krannert School of Physical Therapy, with graduate programs ranked in the top 10 percent nationally by U.S. News and World Report, Assistant Professor Anne Mejia Downs offers fitness tips for fans who can't turn away from the gridiron action.

• share
• favorite_border

Filmgoers should expand their Halloween movie list to include the odd, quirky and classic original horror films, says a Purdue University film expert.

• share
• favorite_border

Think ghost stories are only for being told around a crackling campfire at night? Think again. An assistant professor of history at Tennessee Tech University brings ghosts, myths and legends into her American history course, scaring up interest among history majors and non-history majors alike.

• share
• favorite_border

A good scare this Halloween, whether it's from a horror film or haunted house, is really not the preferred treat for most people, says a Purdue University mass media effects expert.

• share
• favorite_border

For allergy sufferers, the fall season can be just as bad as the spring. A quick trip to the pharmacy for an over-the-counter (OTC) medicine; however, can quickly becoming an overwhelming experience. Speak with the pharmacist before selecting the OTC product that will be the most effective and safest to use for the symptoms that they are experiencing.

• share
• favorite_border

Vampires and gargoyles and bats ... oh my! These professors just might know who "“ or what "“ goes bump in the night.

• share
• favorite_border

Is the University of Maryland haunted? It's a question we try to answer as Halloween approaches. Come visit some of the scariest places on campus, and learn a little bit more about the history of the university as it celebrates its 150th anniversary. (AUDIO EMBEDDED)

• share
• favorite_border

While Halloween is one of the most exciting times of the year, it also can be one of the most dangerous. To keep kids safe, a U-M expert encourages parents to dress their children in Halloween costumes that are safe, and offers tips for picking the right costume.

• share
• favorite_border

The University of Maryland continues to celebrate its 150th anniversary with a unique semester-long look at comedy and humor. Courses, lectures and special programs are all on tap throughout campus this fall, including a special Jim Henson exhibit.

• share
• favorite_border

Researchers at Roswell Park Cancer Institute are conducting a comprehensive study to determine factors affecting quality of life and risk of recurrence in women treated for breast cancer.

• share
• favorite_border

Researchers at Roswell Park Cancer Institute and the University at Buffalo are using a new approach to detecting ovarian cancer early, when it is most curable.

• share
• favorite_border

Researchers at Roswell Park Cancer Institute are analyzing vitamin D in prostate cancer prevention and treatment in the laboratory and the clinic.

• share
• favorite_border

The sniffles. A runny nose. A cough. That's right "” the cold season is upon us. But before you head off to your doctor demanding antibiotics to lessen your symptoms, be aware that those drugs don't always work and can have serious side effects, say two physicians at Washington University in St. Louis.

• share
• favorite_border

Now that summer is over many kids will be heading back indoors to plop themselves in front of the computer, TV and video games, taking up an average of six hours of a child's day according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. Summer camp and other activities that connect children to nature get put on hold until next June. This can lead to unhealthy, stressed-out kids.

• share
• favorite_border

A Colgate University expert gives tips for coping with the seasonal "blahs."

• share
• favorite_border

Tips for making healthy school lunches from Pennsylvania Hospital nutritionist Debra DeMille

• share
• favorite_border

Although experts recommend that backpacks weigh no more than 15 percent of a child's body weight, many kids routinely lug more than double that burden. Over time, this can lead to stooped posture, chronic back and shoulder pain, and muscle weakness.