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With the holidays right around the corner, now is the time to think through ways to refine and elevate your Thanksgiving meal. Virginia Tech culinary and hospitality expert David Yanisko shares tips and tricks to ensure that your celebration is a success.  Create a stress-free holiday meal plan “The key word is plan. For Thanksgiving, give yourself most of the week to thaw a turkey if frozen (in the refrigerator), peel and trim vegetables, make the pies, etc.

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Meals at Thanksgiving and other holidays serve as great social occasions for catching up with family and friends — and for the sake of all gathered, the culinary delights on the table should be delicious, sumptuous, and most importantly, safe.   Melissa Wright, director of Virginia Tech’s Food Producer Technical Assistance Network, and Lester Schonberger, associate Extension specialist, are both faculty members in the Virginia Tech College of Agriculture and Life Sciences' Department of Food Science and Technology and know exactly what you can do to reduce your risk of foodborne illness this holiday season.

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Nobody enjoys sitting in traffic, especially during the holidays. Hesham Rakha, director for the Center for Sustainable Mobility at the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute, said if you are going to avoid traffic when traveling for Thanksgiving and Christmas, “you’re going to have to make some sacrifices.” “You have to choose temporal times where people don’t want to travel,” Rakha said.

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This year has seen its share of severe weather—but how do these powerful storms impact forests over the long term? A Virginia Tech forest health expert breaks down the long-term effects catastrophic weather events can have and how to revive hard-hit forests.  Forest recovery Forests can recover from large-scale disasters through natural succession, though it may take years to resemble their original state, depending on the damage.

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September marked 30 years of “The Magic School Bus” television series. Led by the eccentric Ms. Frizzle, the show sparked a sense of wonder with every adventure — from transporting children inside the human body to the outer reaches of space. But the television series wouldn’t have been possible without its best-selling source material.

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The election is over, but conversations surrounding the outcome are sure to continue for weeks to come. With Thanksgiving right around the corner, knowing how to engage with friends and family members with differing political views may help keep tempers at bay – and relationships intact. Virginia Tech expert Todd Schenk shared his advice for how to keep the peace.

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Coordinated power shutoffs could help control the wildfires spreading across New York and New Jersey, according to a Virginia Tech expert. These shutoffs could mitigate the risk posed by unseasonably dry conditions and challenging terrain, both of which have made containment efforts especially difficult, said Professor Ali Mehrizi-Sani, a Virginia Tech electrical engineering researcher.

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Virginia Tech communication professor Megan Duncan discusses why United States presidential candidates Donald Trump and Kamala Harris focused on podcasts in their voter outreach, and what benefits such media bring.

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Despite the expectation that the results of the 2024 presidential election might not be known for a while, former president Donald Trump won enough swing states to reclaim the presidency by Wednesday morning. Republicans also won the Senate, though close races that will decide the House of Representatives may well not be called for days.

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The necessity of daylight saving time has often been questioned and criticized. Virginia Tech economic expert Jadrian Wooten discusses why the retail industries want to keep daylight saving time, the problems associated with it, and at least one justification for leaving it be.

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Voter anxiety over the presidential election is real. Kristen Benson, director of the marriage and family therapy program at Virginia Tech, offers advice for easing tension.

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A deficiency in vitamin D can lead to problems with bone development and maintenance, and additional symptoms including muscle weakness, fatigue, and depression. To supplement the body's necessary daily dose of vitamin D, Virginia Tech poultry expert Mike Persia has a recommendation for an additional source: Eggs.

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Halloween candy is everywhere. If you have kids in your home, the amount of candy around you may double or triple by Halloween night, and that’s not counting the bowl that made its way into your office — for guests, of course. This is only the beginning of candy season: we see you, Christmas and Valentine’s Day. How do you make sure you’re not mindlessly filling up on all the extra sweet treats? Samantha Harden, associate professor and exercise specialist in the Department of Human Nutrition, Foods, and Exercise at Virginia Tech, encourages us to enjoy the flavors of the season while remaining mindful and prioritizing movement.

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Emily Satterwhite, professor and the director of the Appalachian Studies program in the Department of Religion and Culture, is familiar with the phases of flood recovery efforts. She shares insights on Hurricane Helene's lasting impacts in Appalachia as well as the best ways to help during the current stage of recovery.

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Using mechanisms inspired by nature to create new technological innovations is a signature of one Virginia Tech research team. The group led by Associate Professor Michael Bartlett has created an octopus-inspired adhesive, inspired by the shape of octopus suckers, that can quickly grab and controllably release challenging underwater objects.

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The one-year anniversary of the Hamas attacks in Israel arrived with no sign of a cease-fire agreement, and multiple signs that the fighting could expand to multiple fronts and go on for years.  Virginia Tech global affairs expert Ariel Ahram answered more questions about the expanding conflict and what a solution will require. 

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Virginia Tech English department instructor Ingrid Johnson, who teaches a course on “Monsters, Madness, and the Macabre,” provides insights into how Halloween and ghost stories became so intertwined, and the influence ghost stories have in pop culture.

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Thousands of well-meaning social media users have been sharing photos supposedly depicting the aftermath of Hurricane Helene’s destruction that have turned out to be fake images generated by artificial intelligence (AI). Communication media expert Cayce Myers and digital literacy expert Julia Feerrar discuss the problems these images cause and how to detect them.

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A Virginia Tech disaster response expert has actionable recommendations to improve preparedness and community resilience in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene's disaster