Winston-Salem Journal
The Appalachian State University Foundation has received a $1 million gift from Ron Harper of Charlotte. The gift, which was made in honor of his wife, Katherine, will support the flexography education program, student scholarships and other needs of the department of technology. The portion of Kerr Scott Hall that houses the majority of the department of technology’s academic programs and administrative offices will be named for Mrs. Harper.   Read full story

Asheville Citizen-Times
When Richard Gray looks at the stars, he sees more than just interesting bits of light in the night sky.

Gray, a professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at Appalachian State University, is part of an 11-member team looking for new planets. They have determined that planets may exist around twin or binary stars.

“We used to think that planets could only be found around single stars,” Gray said. “This is an interesting discovery because up until now, people have been skeptical about the possibility of planets with double stars. This project has shown is that it is possible for planets to exist around binary stars as well as single stars.” Read full story

Asheville Citizen-Times
Recent estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau say several WNC counties have seen fairly rapid growth since 2000 while others have trailed state and national rates.

Numbers for the region as a whole for the period from April 2000 to July 2006 don’t exactly confirm the image some have of out-of-control growth. The growth rate for 18 WNC counties was 5.8 percent, less than the 6.4 percent rate the United States saw and North Carolina’s 10.1 percent growth rate.

Buncombe and Henderson counties continue to be attractive to people looking to move for quality-of-life reasons. Counties along the Tennessee line and those that have experienced mass job losses saw much slower growth.   Read full story

“If they don’t have the jobs for kids when they graduate from high school, they’re going to go somewhere else,” said Garry Cooper, a professor of community and regional planning at Appalachian State University.

Science Daily
NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope have observed that planetary systems - dusty disks of asteroids, comets and possibly planets - are at least as abundant in twin-star systems as they are in those, like our own, with only one star. The research appears in the April 1 issue of the Astrophysical Journal. Authors on the paper include Richard Gray of Appalachian State University. Read full story

Asheville Citizen-Times
Appalachian State University Foundation has received a $1 million gift from Ron Harper of Charlotte.
The gift, made in honor of Harper’s wife, Katherine, will support the flexography education program, student scholarships and other needs of the Department of Technology.   Read full story

WRAL TV
Op ed by Harry Davis, professor of banking at Appalachian.

At this point in this recovery, the economy faces several questions. First, is the slowdown in housing and the subprime lending debacle about to end? Second, is the economy headed for a recession in the near term? Third, is the Federal Reserve Board (FED) close to cutting interest rates? Fourth, is the state economy improving?

The answer to the first question is “yes.” The housing market periodically experiences excesses, so this episode was to be expected. New home and existing home sales have fallen from the all-time-record levels of 2005 and housing prices are no longer rising. Sales and starts are at 2003 levels, which were records at the time. Housing sales and starts have about hit bottom and will not be a negative as we go forward.   Read full story

Founder of Ottawa Marathon backtracks, says running marathons can cause a host of ailments

Ottawa Sun

Ken Parker, one of the founders of the Ottawa Marathon and former coach of the late Emilie Mondor, one of Canada’s greatest distance runners, now finds himself in the unusual position of trying to dissuade people from attempting the event.

Research suggests that the 42-km marathon — which the fastest men complete in just over two hours, but can take amateurs four hours or longer to finish — can cause heart disease, irregular heartbeats, damage to the immune system, and post-marathon cardiac dysfunction in under-trained runners.

Under-trained amateur marathon runners who run less than 64 km per week often show signs of cardiac dysfunction after the race and some of these abnormalities may persist for up to a month after they cross the finish line. On the other hand, putting in longer distances –more than 95 km per week –can also cause problems. Dr. David Nieman at Appalachian State University in Boone, N.C., found that over-training can depress the immune system, doubling athletes’ chances of getting sick in the days and weeks following the race. When the immune system is stressed, inflammation results, and there is a link between inflammation and diseases such as heart disease, cancer and arthritis.   Read full story

Carolina Newswire
The North Carolina GlaxoSmithKline Foundation announced at the GlaxoSmithKline Women In Science Scholars Program Spring Conference that it has increased by $725,000 its endowed scholarships for undergraduate women science students across North Carolina at the participating schools. The partner schools include Appalachian State University.   Read full story