Expert Pitches

From candy to cauldrons, Halloween’s favorite traditions have been brewing for thousands of years, according to West Virginia University religious scholars.

A West Virginia University plant expert says mums, the traditional flowers of fall, can easily dry out and fade long before the end of the season without proper care and attention.

Dry conditions and lower than average rainfall mean West Virginia’s fall fire season could be a dangerous one without the public’s help, said Mark Lambert, director of the WVU Extension Fire Service.

As autumn begins, a West Virginia University expert is focused on the scents of the season — first pumpkin spice, then cranberry, pine and gingerbread. These aromas, popular in the form of candles, diffusers and simmer pots, trigger our emotions and memories through our limbic systems but avoiding too much fragrance exposure is important.

A West Virginia University psychiatrist says any legal or illegal substances used during pregnancy — including some falsely perceived as harmless, like marijuana — can hurt a developing fetus.

A West Virginia University supply chain professor says summer is getting spookier — with displays of Halloween merchandise already appearing at national retail chains like Walmart and Lowe’s — partly because sophisticated tools for predicting consumer behavior are helping drive the creep of holiday shopping seasons to earlier on the calendar.

Mark Benincosa, teaching associate professor of music technology at the West Virginia University College of Creative Arts and Media School of Music and heavy metal vocalist for the band Black Hole Zion, said Ozzy Osbourne pushed musical boundaries in his five-decade career.

While fireworks on the Fourth of July are as American as apple pie, a West Virginia University expert in occupational therapy is providing tips to keep celebrations safe.

A West Virginia University expert said the findings of a new study that followed colorectal cancer patients and their treatment outcomes, which included guided exercise and physical activity, are particularly meaningful for West Virginians.

As rare “synchronous fireflies” — which coordinate their pulses of light in time with each other — emerge in Appalachia, a West Virginia University researcher said firefly enthusiasts should take care not to disturb the insects’ mating behavior with flashlights or headlights.