Remember all that superconductor hype from earlier this year? It’s looking like it’s on its deathbed: Scientific journal Nature retracted a research paper it had published in March from scientists claiming to have discovered a room temperature superconductor, the journal said in a statement yesterday. This was the second paper Nature published and then retracted on the topic from a similar research team, the New York Times reports.

The research in question: The paper that was published in March claimed that the researchers had found superconductive abilities in “nitrogen-doped” lutetium hydride at ambient temperatures, although it “still required pressure of 145k pounds per square inch, which is not difficult to apply in a laboratory,” the NYT notes.

It’s been a year of boom and bust for ambient superconductivity: Claims of discovering materials that have superconductive properties allowing them to carry electricity at regular temperatures and without resistance (meaning no energy is lost) cropped up earlier this year. If proven to be true, the discovery of a room-temperature superconductor would be a massive scientific breakthrough, which is why it has drawn widespread skepticism among the scientific community.

AI is helping to increase Black participation in clinical trials: Johnson & Johnson (J&J) is using artificial intelligence (AI) to address the lack of diversity in clinical trials. Black Americans are more likely to develop certain diseases but have a low participation rate in trials, according to Bloomberg.

Using AI, J&J identified community centers where Black patients seek treatment and increased Black enrollment in ongoing studies to 10% from 4.8%. J&J plans to expand the use of AI to increase diversity in 100 trials next year, Najat Khan, chief data science officer of its pharma unit, tells Bloomberg.

The lack of diversity in trials has significant financial and health implications, costing “bns of USD” and perpetuating health disparities. AI allows researchers to quickly review past medical studies and patient records to find new networks of doctors and clinics with more diverse populations, according to a report by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine.

However, AI comes with its own challenges of algorithmic bias. Large companies, such as Walgreens, are using AI tools to quickly locate eligible patients, but rely on 9k local pharmacists to recruit individuals

The FDA is considering regulatory recommendations for AI applications in drug development to prevent discrimination against underserved patients.

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