In July, some scientists claimed to find a superconductor that would work at room temperature and ambient pressure. Such a finding would be groundbreaking, but experts were skeptical about the research. WSJ explains why investors are closely watching this discovery space. Illustration: Yiyang CaoA physicist whose burgeoning career has been rocked by accusations of plagiarism and professional misconduct has now had his biggest discovery invalidated by the journal that published the research. In March, Ranga Dias and his team made the electrifying claim that they had identified a room-temperature superconductor—a discovery that, if true, would have been a step toward revolutionizing energy grids, battery technology, computer processors and a host of other electrical systems by making them work more efficiently.

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Persons: Cao, Ranga Dias