The abduction of Nancy Guthrie is putting a spotlight on the excruciating uncertainty endured by thousands of families whose loved ones go missing each year.

Faculty at Mississippi State University are continuing groundbreaking work at the intersection of mathematics, statistics and climate science with the publication of a new peer-reviewed study examining regional snow cover trends across the Northern Hemisphere. The results suggest shrinking snow coverage as well as seasonal shifts for when the wintry layer comes and goes.

Mississippi State University Assistant Professor Candace Lukasik has received a highly competitive 2026 Collaborative Research Grant from the American Academy of Religion to examine religious communities through the lens of diaspora—populations dispersed beyond their ancestral homelands while maintaining strong cultural and social ties.