By Geoff Hunt, ASBMB Today

Originally published at: http://www.asbmb.org/asbmbtoday/201704/2017AnnualMeeting/Improv/

On April 24, comedian Mike Abdelsayed will lead a team of improv professionals from One Group Mind to put on “Nothing Academic: A Night of Science-Themed Improv” at The Comedy Clubhouse in Chicago. The improv comedy show, which is sponsored by the Public Outreach Committee of the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, will present an example of science communication in action.

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By Jeff McMahon, Opinion, Forbes

Originally published at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/jeffmcmahon/2017/03/26/how-captured-co2-could-provide-the-energy-storage-solution-everyone-is-looking-for/#2a73db95ddef

Scientists in China and the United States are working on a novel way to kill two birds with one stone: capturing carbon-dioxide pollution to use in an energy-storage system that can back up clean sources like solar and wind.

Compressed air is already employed in one of the cheapest forms of energy storage. When windmills are spinning and the sun is shining, excess energy is used to compress air that later, when the air is still and the sky dark, is blasted through turbines mixed with natural gas. But that method produces a lot of waste heat and its own carbon footprint.

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By Patrick M. O'Connell, Chicago Tribune

Originally published at: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-trump-scientists-chicago-met-20170319-story.html

In Illinois coffee shops and theaters, scientists and science fans gather to plan a march. At government offices they fret about the appointment of Cabinet leaders who hold skeptical views on climate change. And in labs they worry about the freeze on their research projects.

The regional science community has felt apprehension since the early days of Donald Trump’s presidency — concerns that further crystallized Thursday with the release of the administration’s budget proposal. Trump seeks deep cuts to the Environmental Protection Agency and other areas of federal government that rely on scientific research.

Continue reading “Local science community rallies around opposition to Trump, plans march”