Scientists analyzing isotope ratios have found that many of the elements that make up life could be left over from Earth’s formation.
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Articles on Isotopes
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Some Nobel Prize-winning ideas originate in strange places, but still go on to revolutionize the scientific field. George de Hevesy’s research on radioactive tracers is one such example.
Tracing isotopes of carbon inside amino acid molecules has revealed the ‘metabolic fingerprints’ of how different animals store and use energy.
Beavers are an important ecosystem engineer in the boreal forest and researchers are demystifying their secrets.
A new particle accelerator has just begun operation. It is the most powerful accelerator of its kind on Earth and will allow physicists to study some of the rarest matter in the universe.
Nuclear isomers are rare versions of elements with properties that mystified physicists when first discovered. Isomers are now used in medicine and astronomy, and researchers are set to discover thousands more of them.
In January 2022, the JET fusion experiment produced more power over a longer period of time than any past attempt. Two physicists explain the engineering advancements that made the result possible.
Isotope mapping reveals information about a monarch butterfly’s point of origin. Using strontium isotopes helps pinpoint more precise locations.
Are the descriptions of war passed down by ancient historians accurate? A site in Sicily provided a rare chance to fact-check stories told about two battles from more than 2,400 years ago.
Leaded petrol hasn’t been used since 2002, but new research found traces of it end up back in the air after bushfires.
The Earth and the Moon were long thought to be virtually identical in composition. Now we know they are not.
Iran has announced it will breach the limits on uranium enrichment agreed under the 2015 nuclear deal, after the US turned its back on the agreement. What does that mean for Iran’s nuclear program?
Alongside their famous dangers, radioactive materials have many beneficial uses. With as many more predicted as have already been discovered, nuclear physicists are searching for more isotopes.
A study has found that a local event rather than a global shift in climate caused the mass extinction in South Africa.
Bird feathers can tell us a lot about their owners and the places they visit.
Technetium-99m is the world’s most commonly used medical isotope, used for over 30 million medical diagnostic procedures annually. But recent years have seen severe worldwide shortages and price spikes…
If you’ve ever studied a periodic table of the elements (see below), you’re probably already aware that this table reveals a great deal about the chemical properties of the atoms that make up our world…
Top contributors
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Professor of Nuclear Physics, Michigan State University
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Associate Professor of Chemistry, Michigan State University
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Assistant Professor of Chemistry, Michigan State University
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Research Fellow, Australian Rivers Institute, Griffith University
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Adjunct Research Fellow, Griffith University
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Emeritus Professor, Griffith University
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Associate Professor of Physics, The University of Melbourne
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Senior Lecturer, School of Cybernetics, Australian National University
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Chief Environmental Scientist, EPA Victoria; Honorary Professor, School of Natural Sciences, Macquarie University
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Professor of Medical Physics, University of Nottingham
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Senior Lecturer in Environmental Science and Planetary Exploration, University of Stirling
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Joint Research Fellow, Centre for Ecosystem Science, UNSW and Australia Nuclear Science Technology Organisation, UNSW Sydney
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Postdoctoral researcher, Analytical, Environmental and Geo- Chemistry, Vrije Universiteit Brussel
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Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Australian Centre for Housing Research, University of Adelaide
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Ph.D. Candidate in Anthropology, University of Georgia
