When the materials scientist Ross Colman and colleagues read a preprint claiming that a material called LK-99 is a superconductor at room temperature and ambient pressure, they set out to replicate the result in their lab. But unlike other scientists doing the same thing, Colman’s group decided to share their work with the public in real time.

In this episode of the Physics World Weekly podcast, Colman – who is at Czechia’s Charles University – talks about the challenges of trying to reproduce someone else’s research and why the team was unable to replicate the observation of room temperature superconductivity.

Also in this episode, Australia’s chief scientist Cathy Foley talks about that country’s A$1bn national quantum strategy. Foley explains why international collaborations will play an important role in the development of quantum technologies and talks about her role as editor-in-chief of the journal Superconductor Science and Technology.