This year marks the 150th anniversary of Dmitri Mendeleev’s discovery of the periodic system—marking one of the most significant achievements in science, which not only captured the essence of chemistry but also of physics and biology. We honor this moment in history by celebrating the “International Year of the Periodic Table of Chemical Elements” (IYPT2019) this year, according to IYPT2019.

There are a number of ways you can pay tribute to the invention of the “common language for science.” Explore the periodic table by participating in one of the many activities hosted by IYPT2019, like the IUPAC Periodic Table Challenge for a chance to win a periodic table signed by a Nobel laureate in chemistry, the EYCN periodic table video competition for a chance to win a trip to Paris, or show off your artwork with a creative Mendeleev Mosaic—and more!

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Some people crack under pressure. Not Vilas Pol. The chemical engineering professor from Purdue University was in his element as he raced to assemble the periodic table in record time, 8 minutes and 36 seconds to be exact, setting a new Guinness World title. With all 118 elements set in place, Pol raised his hands, celebrated his new title as the fastest man to arrange all the elements of the modern periodic table. The never before attempted world record was completed on Wednesday, August 15, 2018.

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Photo Credit: Imperial College London (Click to enlarge)

The future may seem intangible, but according to Business Insider, Academics at Imperial Tech Foresight are helping us grasp just what it might look like. Inspired by the periodic table of chemical elements, the academics replaced its contents with elements we may very well one day see.

The predictions are slotted into a space across two axis: The Y-axis ranks the potential for disruption from high to low, while the X-axis determines how soon it will become a reality. All elements are also color-coded to reflect the present, 20 years into the future, and up to the far away future.

For example, green elements are a reality now: Cm – Cultured meat, Pp – Predictive policing, and Rc – Robotic care companions.

And yellow elements are those that may occur in the near future: Em – Emotionally aware machines, Mm – Public mood monitoring, and Bs – Artificial human substitutes.

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The seventh row of the periodic table has been completed with the addition of four new elements. The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPC) has officially filled slots 113, 115, 117, and 118 with the tentatively ununtrium, ununpentium, ununseptium, and ununoctium.

These are the first new elements to be officially added to the period table since felrovium and livermorium in 2011.

This from PBS:

Japan’s RIKEN Institute has been credited for the discovery of ununtrium (113), while ununpentium (115), ununseptium (117) and ununoctium (118) were discovered by scientists at the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research in Dubna, Russia; California’s Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory; and the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee.

Read the full article.

“The chemistry community is eager to see its most cherished table finally being completed down to the seventh row,” Professor Jan Reedijk, President of the Inorganic Chemistry Division of IUPAC, said in a statement.