LLNL: Yesterday the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry officially approved the names flerovium and livermorium for two new elements, 114 and 116, added to the periodic table last year. The names honor the contributions of scientists from two nuclear science labs, the Flerov Laboratory of Nuclear Reactions in Russia and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in the US. With the creation of elements 114 and 116, the researchers believe they may be on their way to the “ ‘island of stability,’ an area of the periodic table in which new heavy elements would be stable or last long enough for applications to be found,” according to the press release.
The finding that the Saturnian moon may host layers of icy slush instead of a global ocean could change how planetary scientists think about other icy moons as well.
Modeling the shapes of tree branches, neurons, and blood vessels is a thorny problem, but researchers have just discovered that much of the math has already been done.
January 29, 2026 12:52 PM
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