NPR/National Public Radio
If you look at a cotton seed, you'll see that it's covered in little black dots, and for 30 years, Keerti Rathore has been trying to make those dots disappear. Rathore is a professor of soil and crop sciences at Texas A&M University specializing in genetic modification. The black flecks are traces of gossypol, a toxin that makes cotton seeds inedible for most animals.
How Tyson’s beef plant closure will impact the local economy in Nebraska
NPR/National Public Radio • Jan 10, 2026David Anderson, a livestock economist at Texas A&M University, says the cattle industry is cyclical. When the cattle herd is small, meat packers lose money while ranchers make a profit. When there's an excess inventory of cattle, meat packers profit as ranchers lose money. He says each cycle typically lasts about a decade. The cattle herd in the U.S. is the smallest it's been in decades, according to data from the Department of Agriculture, and packers like Tyson are feeling the strain.
Traffic congestion hits a record high, spreading to more hours of the week
NPR/National Public Radio • Dec 5, 2025"We are back. But the delay kind of has a different feel to it than it did before," said David Schrank, a senior research scientist at the Texas A&M Transportation Institute, which has tracked congestion since the 1980s in its annual Urban Mobility Report.
‘A slap in the face’: Ranchers feel betrayed by Trump’s plan to buy Argentine beef
NPR/National Public Radio • Oct 23, 2025The U.S. already imports a record amount of beef from other countries, including Argentina, according to David Anderson, a livestock economist at Texas A&M University.
Preservation groups raise concerns about the White House renovations
NPR/National Public Radio • Oct 22, 2025Preservation groups are concerned about the renovations happening at the White House. NPR speaks with architecture professor Priya Jain about the history of construction at The People's House.
Trump has a welcome message for new citizens. It’s different from past presidents
NPR/National Public Radio • Jul 21, 2025Generally, Trump's rhetoric on immigration has intensified during his second term, especially during his most recent presidential campaign, according to Jennifer Mercieca, a historian of American political rhetoric at Texas A&M University. " The metaphors that he used about immigration, whether it was an invasion, whether immigrants were poisoning the blood of the nation and things like that," Mercieca said. "Those are very salient ways of talking about immigration and very different from the ways that previous presidents have done."
Experts putting together Revolutionary War-era ship found at World Trade Center site
NPR/National Public Radio • May 28, 2025Fifteen years ago, archaeologists at the World Trade Center site discovered a ship, deep in the muck, dating back to the Revolutionary War. Now they're putting it back together.
Texas farmers struggle as Mexico and U.S. wrestle with water from the Rio Grande treaty
NPR/National Public Radio • May 13, 2025Rosario Sanchez, a senior research scientist at Texas Water Resources Institute at Texas A&M University, said the state is looking for "predictability and reliability, which is what Mexico has not been able to do over the last 15 years or so."
Texas A&M senior research engineer describes the kinds of risks facing power grids
NPR/National Public Radio • Apr 29, 2025NPR's A Martinez speaks with senior research engineer Jonathan Snodgrass at Texas A&M University about the safety of power grids after three countries in Europe experienced blackouts.
As special ed students are integrated more at school, teacher training is evolving
NPR/National Public Radio • Apr 15, 2025And a new kind of degree is also becoming more common: Dual-licensure or "unified" degree programs aim to prepare students to earn both general education and special education certification. These programs are sprouting up across the country, including at Texas A&M, Wichita State University, The Ohio State University and the University of Northern Iowa.