About Science X

About Science X in 100 words

Science X™ is a leading web-based science, research and technology news service which covers a full range of topics. These include physics, earth science, medicine, nanotechnology, electronics, space, biology, chemistry, computer sciences, engineering, mathematics and other sciences and technologies. Launched in 2004 (Physorg.com), Science X’s readership has grown steadily to include 5 million scientists, researchers, and engineers every month. Science X publishes approximately 200 quality articles every day, offering some of the most comprehensive coverage of sci-tech developments world-wide. Science X community members enjoy access to many personalized features such as social networking, a personal home page set-up, article comments and ranking, the ability to save favorite articles, a daily newsletter, and other options.

Mission

The Science X™ staff mission statement is to provide the most complete and comprehensive daily coverage of the full sweep of science, technology, and medicine news. Sci-tech readers will find coverage of relevant and interesting current events. We strive to bring our readers a large assortment of stories, catering for scientists, researchers, engineers, academia, tech geeks, students, and graduates alike. With a highly educated and sophisticated readership and target audience, Science X stories go beyond mere catchy jargon. We find out the who, the what, the where, the how, and the why of a story - and the why not. Our job is to find the interesting science and technology stories, uncover the details, and give our readers their daily dose of news at a single source.

12 reasons for reading daily news on Science X
  1. Publishing around 100 articles every business day, Science X offers the most comprehensive sci-tech news coverage on the web.
  2. Science X offers the fastest news delivery to end-readers. We typically publish news 1-2 days before other news services.
  3. Our stories originate from diverse information sources:
    • Science X exclusive feature stories are original and not found elsewhere on the web. Produced by our professional writers, these articles are linked from lots of esteemed websites. For example, the American Physical Society (APS) displays Science X's feature article headlines on its home page.
    • Licensed sci-tech news from all major news agencies is published on Science X.
    • Science X PR has established relationships with major university research centers and private sector research and development centers, both in the U.S. and world-wide for breaking developments in science and technology.
  4. All news stories are hand-processed and sorted out by qualified editors, obviating the problems of feed or bot aggregation. This ensures that high-quality, targeted sci-tech news stories are published on Science X.
  5. Science X utilizes advanced programming technology to present news in clear and unambiguous classifications to create intuitive category and sub-category designations. Readers are able to identify news topics easily.
  6. Science X provides a comprehensive site search and sort feature. Readers may sort news stories by date, editor ranking, live-rank, popularity ranking, and most e-mailed news story.
  7. The unique 'Live-rank' feature was specifically developed by the Science X team to handle vast amounts of daily news. Live-rank combines artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms which determine the popularity of the story among readers, editor ranking, time relevancy, and other factors. Live-rank shows the best up-to-the-minute stories because it combines two factors: recency and reader appeal. In practice, (Al) Live-rank displays the most recent interesting stories in real time.
  8. Reader input is particularly important to Science X. Each article appearing on the site has a comment section for readers. This feature is designed to allow readers to ‘speak up’ about content appearing on Science X, from which we can rectify errors and oversights. If we miss something or overstate a scientific principle, for example, our readers let us know very quickly. These readers keep the Science X community vibrant and lively.
  9. Science X recognizes that every reader is unique and is looking for a unique experience. So, we provide customizable news filters and a variety of RSS/XML feeds. Our readers can track news specific to their interest areas and customize a personal Science X home page and their RSS feed reader.
  10. A personal Science X Account opens up a host of useful features. Account holders can subscribe to our daily newsletter, track site activity, save favorite articles to bookmarks, set up their own homepage news filters, view new stories since last visit, instant message other users, and more.
  11. Sharing sci-tech news with friends and colleagues is easy on Science X. Convenient news sharing buttons for Digg, Delicious, Reddit, StumbleUpon, Facebook, Twitter, and many other sites may be accessed with a single mouse-click. Send your favorite stories via e-mail or publish them on your personal blog. Articles are also available in PDF format for your personal use.
  12. Science X is hi-tech. We love to stay on the cutting edge of web development. Unique artificial intelligence algorithms help sort out our news stories, Google IG Module and toolbar button, Facebook page and Twitter feeds, and much more. All these features allow Science X go with the flow of internet innovation. Read more about Science X’s hi-tech features and developments here.
Organization

Science X is wholly owned by Omicron Limited, headquartered in Douglas, Isle Of Man, United Kingdom. The website was founded in March 2004 by two PhD students motivated by the void in hard science news designed for informed and educated readers. The initial idea behind Science X was to cover physics, nanotechnology, and engineering news. While maintaining this focus, Science X has expanded its coverage to other relevant science and technology fields. Science X has filled the void and created a unique niche in science and technology daily news reporting. As proof of this, the site immediately soared in popularity on the web. Today, Science X is a comprehensive sci-tech news portal for all major research disciplines.

Key editors and writers

John Benson – Editor-in-Chief

John joined Science X in 2006. His academic roots lie in bio-chemistry from the University College London (UCL). The UCL motto is, "Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward." Taking these words to heart, John has devoted over 25 years of his life to science consulting. John's guidance since joining Science X in 2006 is invaluable in creating reliable and trustworthy science and technology stories for Science X.

Andrew Zinin – Managing Editor

Andrew has a life-long interest in scientific news. As a youth he contributed science and technology news to local school magazines. Andrew achieved a Master's degree in physics with post-graduate work as a research assistant for five years, conducting scientific research. Throughout his career he has never forgotten the thrill and excitement of capturing the dreams of a young child through scientific discovery. Andrew is an accurate editor whose earnest efforts and youthful zeal play a major part in the success of Science X.

Alexander Pol – Managing Editor

Alex holds a PhD in nano-engineering from Delft University of Technology, (TU Delft) in the Netherlands. He is an author and co-author of numerous scientific publications. Alex served as a reviewer for various peer-reviewed scientific journals before launching his career in scientific journalism. Science X values Alex's thoughtful and careful scientific insight in developing policy and creating standards for content.

Contributing authors

Lisa Zyga

Lisa graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign with a Bachelor of Arts degree in rhetoric in 2004. She subsequently completed a science writing internship at Fermilab, followed by a communications internship at Caterpillar. Since then, she has been writing in a freelance capacity for a variety of science, technology, and other publications. Lisa began writing for Science X in 2005, providing engaging and interesting editorials about scientific developments. Lisa‘s stimulating and accurate science and technology articles have made her very popular among Science X readers.

Stuart Mason Dambrot

As a Consilientist, Mr. Dambrot analyzes deep-structure interconnections between multiple areas of knowledge and creativity, focus on the synthesis of a precise conceptual language that communicates the common neocortical foundations of human intellectual expression. As a Futurist, Mr. Dambrot identifies, monitors, and extrapolates convergent and emergent trends in a wide range of areas, including computing, communications, energy, neuroscience, nanotechnology, biotechnology, synthetic biology, molecular electronics, artificial intelligence, robotics, quantum computing and communications, and quantum neurobiology. Mr. Dambrot speaks and writes about a wide range of topics, many of which are covered in his blog Critical Thought. He has written for Science X, MedicalXpress.com, Nature, Science, Nature Biotechnology, New Scientist, Scientific American, IEEE Spectrum, Electronics, Columbia University 21stC, Economist, Financial Times, International Herald Tribune, Japan Times, EE Times, Photonics Spectra, ChemicalWeek. Mr. Dambrot holds a degree in Physiological Psychology.

John Hewitt

John's background is physics and neuroscience. He worked in industry for many years in a variety electrical and mechanical engineering roles. He also ran CRE precision, a machine shop specializing in the design of biomedical instruments, for 10 years. He sold the business in 2012 to pursue the goal of full time science reading, and has been able to find gainful employment writing in the fields of neuroscience, cell biology, and general technology.

Bob Yirka

Bob Yirka has always been fascinated by science and has spent large portions his life with his nose buried in textbooks or magazines; he has Bachelor of Science Degree in Computer Science and a Master of Science in Information Systems Management. He’s worked in a variety of positions in the telecommunications field ranging from help desk jockey to systems analyst to MIS manager. Recently, after nearly twenty years in the business, he’s decided to move to what he really loves doing and that is writing. In addition to writing for Science X, Bob has also sold several short-stories and has written three novels.

Nancy Owano

Nancy Owano has a Master of Science degree from Columbia University School of Journalism. She has written about new technologies for online sites including WiMAX Day, Quantum Networks, and The Linux Line. Before that, she was a correspondent in London for Chemical Marketing Reporter and India Abroad. She also worked as reporter and desk editor for the Daily Nation and Sunday Nation in Nairobi, Kenya. Nancy’s Monday-through-Sunday schedule for Science X has her on a daily roll of informative scientific and technology reports.

Laura Mgrdichian

Laura is a physical sciences writer, covering physics, nanoscience, astronomy/astrophysics, and materials science for Science X. She began her career as a reporter covering local events on Long Island, New York and later worked at Brookhaven National Laboratory and the National Institute of Standards and Technology. She has been freelancing since 2005. She has B.S. degree in physics from Stony Brook University and currently lives near Boston, Massachusetts. Laura's association with Science X began in 2006. Believing wholeheartedly that ‘the devil is in the detail’, Laura creates accurate and thought-provoking science articles.

John Messina

After a 35-year professional career in the telecommunications industry, John's second-life career began in 2006. He has flourished as a freelance writer for various websites. John's passion is researching and writing electronic technology and science stories. He graduated from RCA Institutes in 1970 with an Associate Degree in electronic technology. John knows his stuff and readers appreciate his practical insights.

Lin Edwards

Lin has a Bachelor's degree in Chemistry/Biochemistry from the University of Sydney, and a Diploma in Freelance Journalism from the Australian College of Journalism. After many years as a technical writer, writing mainly in fields such as chemistry, electronics, heavy engineering, RFID, robotics, and lasers, Lin decided to return to university and has just completed a BA in Literature and Composition. She has also been working as a freelance writer and academic editor, and while she enjoys writing on many topics, science and technology are her first love. Lin began writing for Science X in 2009.

Miranda Marquit

Miranda has a M.A. in journalism from Syracuse University and is a life-long lover of science who now enjoys writing about it. A technology columnist for her local newspaper, Miranda has also had her work published in a range of print and online publications including Discover magazine. Miranda joined Science X in 2005. Her passion for science and technology shows through in her writing, making her contributions lively and incisive.

Ted Goodman

Ted Goodman is a versatile writer, who covers many subjects from symphony orchestras to tournament bridge. Somehow, soon after graduate school, he landed a free-lance job with the National Institutes of Health, editing medical research papers and re-creating their texts to publish for lay audiences. That was a tough way to get his feet wet, but the experience led him to similar assignments in other government offices. "So many folks are afraid of science and new technologies; I like to bring that knowledge home to them so that they can love it like I do." Though Ted's degrees from George Washington University (Washington, DC) are in speech and hearing science, his own research stopped after graduate school. He has spent his career either teaching or writing (or playing bridge!).

Contact us

Please use this form to contact any of our staff or contributing writers. We welcome all questions and comments.

Omicron Limited
36 Hope Street, Douglas
IM1 1AR, Isle of Man
Fax: +1 815 6420066