Science X Dialog

Science X Dialog is where researchers can share news and information about their own published journal articles.
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Dialog / Could we extract energy from a black hole? Our experiment verifies old theory

A rotating black hole is such an extreme force of nature that it drags surrounding time and space around with it. So it is only natural to ask whether black holes could be used as some sort of energy source. In 1969, mathematical ...

Jun 26, 2020 in Physics
Dialog / Lancet-gate in the COVID-19 pandemic era: is it alright for science to be wrong?

The world was stunned when The Lancet, medicine's most respected scientific journal, retracted a blockbuster article within two weeks of its publication over data credibility.

Jun 19, 2020 in Medicine & Health
Dialog / I study coronavirus in a highly secured biosafety lab – here's why I feel safer here than in the world outside

It's quiet in the laboratory, almost peaceful. But I'm holding live SARS-CoV-2 in my hands and this virus is not to be taken lightly.

Jun 18, 2020 in Medicine & Health
Dialog / Schrödinger's cat explained

In 1935, E. Schrödinger proposed his well-known cat thought experiment suggesting, but not explaining, how a measurement transforms the probable states of an atom into the actual state of a cat (alive or dead). Rather than ...

Jun 17, 2020 in Physics
Dialog / Meteorites from Mars contain clues about the red planet's geology

Despite the pandemic, NASA is on track to launch its Mars rover, Perseverance, this July from Cape Canaveral, Florida. Its central mission will be to search for evidence of previous life on Mars.

Jun 16, 2020 in Astronomy & Space
Dialog / How a stone wedged in a gum tree shows the resilience of Aboriginal culture in Australia

Trees marked by Aboriginal cultural practices are a distinctive part of the Australian landscape. A recent discovery on Wiradjuri country in New South Wales shows some of these "culturally modified trees" may be much younger ...

Jun 11, 2020 in Biology
Dialog / A few superspreaders transmit the majority of coronavirus cases

The coronavirus has traveled the globe, infecting one person at a time. Some sick people might not spread the virus much further, but some people infected with the SARS-CoV-2 are what epidemiologists call "superspreaders."

Jun 8, 2020 in Medicine & Health
Dialog / We've discovered how these deadly bacteria use a common sugar to spread through the body. It could help us stop them

Although bacteria are single-celled and microscopically small, they still need energy to survive, just like us. One of the most efficient ways of acquiring energy for bacteria is through sweet, soluble carbohydrates: sugars.

Jun 5, 2020 in Biology
Dialog / 2-D or not 2-D: Scientists revise a longstanding paradigm on the physics of layered materials

Crystals only one atom thick are commonly obtained by starting with layered materials, where thousands of individual atomic planes are stacked together by weak van der Waals interactions. Scientists have spent many decades ...

Jun 5, 2020 in Nanotechnology
Dialog / We dug up Australian weather records back to 1838 and found snow is falling less often

As we slowly emerge from lockdown, local adventures are high on people's wish lists. You may be planning a trip to the ski fields, or even the nearby hills to revel in the white stuff that occasionally falls around our southern ...

Jun 4, 2020 in Earth
Dialog / A 515 million-year-old freeloader: This nutrient-stealing marine worm is the oldest known parasite

The COVID-19 outbreak has put into stark relief the disruption parasites can cause, both in human society and ecosystems.

Jun 3, 2020 in Other Sciences
Dialog / Trick or treat? Role of uric acid and central obesity on the risk of metabolic syndrome

Metabolic syndrome is a collection of conditions that happen together, increasing your risk of heart disease, stroke and type 2 diabetes. These conditions include increased blood pressure, high blood sugar, excess body fat ...

Jun 2, 2020 in Medicine & Health