Stories by Alison Ballance

Tellurium is a metalloid often found with gold and the US town Telluride is named after it, says Prof Allan Blackman, in ep 82 of Elemental.

Technetium was the first element on the periodic table to be synthesised. It is rare, radioactive and has only a few uses, says Prof Allan Blackman in ep 81 of Elemental.

Victoria University researchers are radio-tracking urban rats in Wellington city suburbs to find out how large their home ranges are, to help improve predator-free trapping efforts.

The metal tantalum is usually found with the element niobium, has a very high melting point but is a 'conflict mineral', says Prof Allan Blackman in ep 80 of Elemental.

Sulfur is responsible for some very bad smells, is the number one industrial chemical and is also an essential element, says Prof Allan Blackman in ep 79 of Elemental.

Kākā and kea are well-known for being intelligent, and PhD student Daniel Donoghue is interested in how they learn new things.

Named after a Scottish town, strontium can be highly radioactive & glow-in-the-dark, but also used in toothpaste, says Prof Allan Blackman from AUT, in ep 78 of Elemental.

Sodium is vital for life & usually found in combinaton with other more interesting elements, says Prof Allan Blackman in ep 77 of Elemental.

Silver is widely used in jewellery, has interesting light sensitive abilities and has antimicrobial properties, says Prof Allan Blackman from AUT in ep 76 of Elemental.

Silicon is a blockbuster metalloid with many uses, from glass to computer chips & bathroom sealants, says Prof Allan Blackman from AUT in ep 75 of Elemental.

New Zealand soils lack the vital element selenium, which also used to be important in photocopiers and bathroom plumbing, says Prof Allan Blackman from AUT in ep 74 of Elemental.

Prof Jane Harding has won New Zealand's top science award, the Rutherford Medal, for ground-breaking research that has improved the lives of countless babies and mothers.

The Royal Society – Te Apārangi has celebrated the achievements & contributions of New Zealand’s top researchers at its 2019 award ceremony.

Dr Ocean Mercier's work bridging the worlds of science and traditional Māori knowledge has been recognised with the 2019 Callaghan Medal for science communication.

Dr Lisa Te Morenga has won the 2019 Hamilton Award for her internationally significant research on sugar and its impacts on health.

Predicted by Mendeleev & useful for alloying with aluminium, scandium was involved in a famous cricket scandal, says AUT's Allan Blackman in ep 73 of Elemental.

Samarium magnets are used in headphones & guitar pickups, and samarium was the first element named after a real person, says Prof Allan Blackman from AUT in ep 72 of Elemental.

Ruthenium is a 'sort of' precious metal that is a useful catalyst and alloy. It is toxic and smells like ozone, says Allan Blackman from AUT in ep 71 of Elemental.

Rubidium is a reactive metal with few uses, named 'deepest red' due to its beautiful red spectral lines, says Allan Blackman from AUT in ep 70 of Elemental.

Rhodium is an expensive precious metal that is used in catalytic convertors, to make the Parkinson's drug L-DOPA, create shiny jewellery and add the menthol taste to toothpaste, says Allan Blackman…

Named after the Rhine river, rhenium is a metal with very high boiling and melting points, and it was the last naturally occuring, non-radioactive element to be discovered, says Prof Allan Blackman in…

The radioactive gas radon can be a risk in the basements of stone houses and used to, erroneously, be touted for its health benefits, says Prof Allan Blackman from AUT in ep 67 of Elemental.

Radium was famously found by the Curies, and was once widely used in face creams, drinks and luminous watch dials, despite being highly radioactive, says Allan Blackman in ep 66 of Elemental.

Protactinium is a rare, radioactive element that has no uses and may be the most boring element, says Prof Allan Blackman from AUT in ep 65 of Elemental.

Despite its gruesome mythical name, the radioactive element promethium has no particular claim to fame, says Prof Allan Blackman from AUT in ep 64 of Elemental.