The science of discovery: New elements could be used in nuclear medicine

To Douglas Wells, a professor of physics at the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, four newly discovered chemical elements could be powerful tools in the struggle to treat cancer and other serious diseases.

Discovered by teams of scientists in Japan, Russia, and the United States, the new elements were confirmed by The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry this week.

The new elements fill in four gaps in the seventh row of the periodic table, completing the current version of the chemical chart of elements.

“From a chemist’s standpoint, this is the Holy Grail,” Wells said. Read more.