logo
episode-header-image
Dec 2019
9m 45s

Tennessine's Wild Ride To The Periodic T...

NPR
About this episode
There are rare chemical elements, and then there is tennessine. Only a couple dozen atoms of the stuff have ever existed. For the 150th anniversary of the periodic table, NPR science correspondent Joe Palca shares the convoluted story of one of the latest elements to be added.

Follow Maddie on Twitter @maddie_sofia. Email the team at shortwave@npr.org.

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NPR Privacy Policy
Up next
Jan 14
When is your brain actually an "adult"?
There’s this idea that something happens in the human brain when we turn 25. Suddenly, we can rent a car without fees. Make rational decisions. We may even regret some of our past… indiscretions. All because we’re developed…right? Well, a recent paper in the journal Nature sugges ... Show More
13m 54s
Jan 13
The ozone layer is still healing…thanks to science
In the mid-1980s, scientists published a startling finding–a giant hole in the ozone layer over Antarctica. That’s the protective shield that blocks large amounts of harmful UV radiation. And without it, the rate of cancer, cataracts and crop failure would skyrocket. Today on the ... Show More
12m 10s
Jan 12
These little microbes may help solve our big problems
Microbes are little alchemists that perform all manner of chemical reactions. A team of microbiologists co-founded a non-profit to try to harness those abilities to solve some of the world’s big problems — from carbon capture to helping coral reefs to cleaning up waste. Recently, ... Show More
11m 30s
Recommended Episodes
Feb 2019
Periodic Table: 150 Au Years
This week we're celebrating 150 years of the Periodic Table - we'll find out how scientists uncovered the elements in the first place and what other mysterious materials may be waiting to be discovered. Plus a way to power up the body's own morphine-like chemicals, how microbes a ... Show More
55m 25s
Sep 2023
C&EN Uncovered: Looking back on 100 years of chemistry
tail spinning
13m 38s
Mar 2021
Tales of Love and Madness from the Periodic Table
<p>Did you know that Gandhi hated iodine? Or that Silicon Valley was almost called Germanium Valley? Our producer <a href= "https://www.sciencehistory.org/profile/rigoberto-hernandez" target="_self" data-cke-saved-href= "https://www.sciencehistory.org/profile/rigoberto-hernandez" ... Show More
55m 14s
Jun 2024
The new science of ageing and the quest to live forever
<p>The super-rich are trialling innumerable whacky theories to radically extend their lives, from not eating after 11pm to taking hundreds of supplements a day and even blood transfusions from their children. But what does the science tell us? Could some of these ideas actually p ... Show More
28m 59s
Feb 2024
C&EN Uncovered: The small-molecule drug renaissance
<p dir="ltr">As the science of drug discovery has grown in scale and gotten more complicated, so have the drug molecules themselves. But there's a promising class of drugs made of just a handful of atoms that punch above their weight by leveraging the natural chemistry of the cel ... Show More
19m 56s
May 2024
Tierras raras, un debate por explotar
<p>La revolución digital ha disparado la búsqueda de materias primas para fabricar dispositivos que cada vez son más precisos y más pequeños. Unos minerales comúnmente conocidos como tierras raras, y que se encuentran muy dispersos dentro de la tierra. Son esenciales para fabrica ... Show More
14m 47s
Listen to millions of songs and podcasts on Anghami