The four new man-made elements are the first to be added since 2011.
Chemistry buffs and scientists rejoice: Four new elements have been added to the periodic table, the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry has announced, completing the seventh row of the iconic chemistry chart. The new elements were discovered by teams of researchers in Japan, America, and Russia. All four elements are man-made radioactive superheavy elements with slightly longer lifetimes than previously discovered superheavy elements, leading to hope of eventually discovering “a so-called ‘island of stability’ where elements with longer half-lives will be found,” according to RIKEN researchers, one of the teams who are credited with discovering one of the new elements.