University of Michigan Museum of Natural History Podcast

Science Café: Climate Solutions: Renewable Energy Storage and Carbon Capture

How can renewables such as wind and solar energy produce power for use when the sun isn't shining or the wind ebbs? How can we capture the carbon dioxide that is already in the atmosphere?

Join Charles McCrory of the U-M Department of Chemistry and David Kwabi of the U-M Department of Mechanical Engineering to discuss new research on renewable energy storage: using renewable electricity to charge batteries and produce chemical fuels like hydrogen that can be used for later energy generation.

We'll also discuss how renewable energy may be used to mitigate climate change by capturing and storing atmospheric carbon dioxide, or converting it into useful products.

Science Café: Mapping ocean biodiversity hotspots

How does ocean biodiversity change over deep time? Join Matt Friedman, director of the U-M Museum of Paleontology, and Hernán López-Fernández, chair for collections and curator of fishes in the U-M Museum of Zoology. We will discuss how Matt uses old fossil fishes to answer new questions about biodiversity hotspots in ancient oceans. Hernán will help us consider how this research can shed light on the biodiversity changes we see today.

Originally recorded November 16, 2022

Science Café: Of the Galaxy, and Beyond—Photos from the Webb telescope

The James Webb Space Telescope increases the clarity and resolution of space photography, both within our galaxy and beyond. What do these photos tell us so far and what can we expect in the future? What does it take to put a project like this together? Join Professor and Chair Ted Bergin from the U-M Department of Astronomy as we celebrate the return of Science Cafés with an out-of-this-world conversation.

 

Originally recorded on October 26, 2022. 

Science Café: Something Fishy in Lake Michigan

Great Lakes fisheries are managed intensively to reduce nutrients from fertilizer runoff and to increase game fish populations such as trout and salmon. When you add invasive species such as non-native mussels and the possibility of carp, we have a very fragile system. Join us to discuss the past, present, and possible futures of Lake Michigan fisheries with Bo Bunnell of the U.S.G.S. Great Lakes Science Center and U-M School for Environment and Sustainability, Yu-Chun Kao of MSU's Center for Systems Integration and Sustainability, and Ed Rutherford of the NOAA Great Lakes Environmental Research Lab.

Originally recorded on February 19, 2020. 

Science Café: DNA, Chromosome Structure, and Health

If you stretched the DNA in one human cell all the way out, it would be about two meters long. How does all that DNA fit into one tiny cell? How does the way it is packaged matter for human health? Join Gyorgyi Csankovszki of the Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology for a discussion of current research into basic cellular biology and the implications this research may have on human health. This Science Café is part of a grant from the National Science Foundation.

Originally recorded on January 22, 2020. 

Science Café: The Secrets of Birds

Hidden in the feathers of museum specimens of birds is information on the air quality of past decades - very detailed information. These specimens also contain evidence of the impacts of recent climate change on birds. What do these birds have to say? Join Shane DuBay and Ben Winger of the U-M Museum of Zoology to discuss what bird specimens can tell us about air quality, climate change impacts, and what we can all do to help rapidly declining bird populations now.

Originally recorded on October 16, 2019.

Science Café: What does water sustainability have to do with microbes?

Microbes in the water take carbon from the atmosphere, break down plastics, and even cause and prevent toxic algae blooms. Join Dr. Melissa Duhaime of the U-M's Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and members of her lab team to discuss the ecology of aquatic microbes, and how what we learn about them now could have huge impacts on our future.

Originally recorded November 20, 2019.

For more information on future Science Cafes, please visit our website. 

Science Café: You’re the scientist now! Citizen and community science in a connected world

Have you ever helped with research by doing a Christmas bird count, helping to identify photos for an online project, or participating in local water testing? Join us as we explore the potential roles of citizen and community science projects in scientific research and public policy. We’ll highlight some U-M projects, with opportunities for involvement. 

• Nyeema Harris - Applied Wildlife Ecology Lab (U-M Ann Arbor)

• Marty Kaufman -  Department of Geography, Planning, and Environment (U-M Flint); 

• Natalie Sampson - Department of Health & Human Services (U-M Dearborn)

• Justin Schell - Shapiro Design Lab (U-M Ann Arbor Library)

For more information on future Science Cafes, please visit our website. 

Science Café: Politics and Psychology from Mussolini to the Alt-Right

A discussion of the history and social psychology of nationalist and fascist politics and what light this scholarship may or may not shed on current events. 

• Joshua Rabinowitz, lecturer, U-M Psychology Department
• Dario Gaggio, professor, U-M History Department

For more information on future Science Cafes, please visit our website. 

Science Café: Designer Genes? Genetic engineering in the age of CRISPR

New technology makes gene editing easier. Its use is being explored to correct diseases caused by genetic mutations, to fight cancer, and even to learn about human evolutionary adaptations, and its potential is amazing. We'll explore the capabilities and research that CRISPR Cas9 gene editing brings, as well as its ethical, legal, and social implications.

• Jody Platt, Assistant Professor in the Department of Learning Health Sciences at the U-M Medical School
• Daniel Thiel, doctoral student at the U-M School of Public Health and Department of Sociology
• Thom Saunders, Director of the U-M Transgenic Animal Model Core

For more information on future Science Cafes, please visit our website.