The element radium can be found in extremely tiny amounts in the Earth’s crust and oceans, and in its pure form it is a soft silvery metal. To an untrained eye, a small piece of radium may look like a ...

Researchers at University of Tsukuba have developed a cellulose-based composite sheet that integrates paper pulp with starch, polyaniline (a conductive polymer), Prussian blue (a coordination compound ...

Researchers grew crystals containing actinium and illuminated them with X-rays to learn how the radioactive metal binds with other elements. That information could help design better cancer treatments ...

Scientists have detected elevated levels of iodine-129, a nuclear activity tracer, in the West Philippine Sea.

Nearly 80 years after scientists at Oak Ridge National Laboratory discovered an extremely rare radioactive element called promethium, a team at the lab published a landmark study on the subject that ...

Scientists have revealed key properties of radioactive promethium, a rare earth element with poorly understood applications, using a groundbreaking new method. When you purchase through links on our ...

Radioactive potassium, common enough on Earth to make potassium-rich bananas one of the “hottest” foods around, appears also to be a substantial source of heat in the Earth’s core, according to recent ...

In 1902 Ernest Rutherford and Frederick Soddy discovered that radioactive elements, such as uranium and thorium, broke down into other elements in a predictable sequence or series. This amazing fact ...

In this lesson, students will simulate the randomness of decay in radioactive atoms and visualize the half-life of a sample radioactive element. This lesson can be completed in two (2) 45-minute class ...

What’s going on with this silent threat that can stealthily damage your body in ways that can take years to reveal themselves ...

Curious Kids is a series for children of all ages. If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, send it to CuriousKidsUS@theconversation.com. “What is radium and why is it dangerous?” – ...