Stories by Alison Ballance

After a fierce struggle for naming rights, the last lanthanoid element to be discovered was eventually named after Paris, says Allan Blackman in ep 45 of Elemental.

Electroclear is a start-up company at the University of Auckland using electric fields to deter small marine organisms from settling on boats and underwater structures.

Paternity testing has revealed who the top kākāpō dads are, as well as the success of the artificial insemination programme, in ep 22 of the Kākāpō Files.

Lithium is the lightest metal, and it is used in batteries and for the treatment of bipolar disorder, says Prof Allan Blackman from AUT in ep 44 of Elemental.

Lead is the element that took down an empire, and its sweet taste belies a metal that is dangerous for human & animal health. All this and more with Prof Allan Blackman from AUT in ep 43 of Elemental.

Despite giving its name to a whole group on the periodic table, chemists can't agree if lanthanum even belongs in that group, says Prof Allan Blackman from AUT in ep 42 of Elemental.

In real life krypton is a noble gas which is commonly used in neon signs and laser light shows, says Allan Blackman from AUT in ep 41 of Elemental.

Iron is formed in stars, makes up most of the Earth's core & as a result enables life as we know it to exist, says Prof Allan Blackman from AUT, in ep 40 of Elemental.

The kākāpō health crisis is stable, with no further cases of aspergillosis diagnosed, and seven hand-reared chicks have been successfully released in the wild, in ep 21 of the Kākāpō Files.

Iridium is the second-densest element on the periodic table and the most erosion-resistant metal. A layer of iridium in rocks marks the demise of the dinosaurs, according to Allan Blackman from AUT…

NIWA scientists are putting freshwater fish such as inanga through swimming trials, to find out how they cope with water moving at different speeds.

A lack of iodine causes goitre, and seafood and iodised salt are good sources of this important trace element, says Prof Allan Blackman from AUT, in ep 38 of Elemental.

Indium is a very soft metal, and as indium-tin-oxide it is an indispensable part of the swipeability of touchscreens, says Allan Blackman from AUT in ep 37 of Elemental.

A panel of five experts debate what it will take to turn the idea of a predator-free New Zealand by 2050 from a dream into a reality.

Hydrogen is the first element on the periodic table. It is the oldest, lightest and most abundant element in the universe, but on earth it is usually found in compounds such as water, says AUT's Allan…

Holmium has interesting magnetic properties and is an important part of precise surgical lasers known as the 'Swiss Army knife' of lasers, according to Prof Allan Backman from AUT, in ep 35 of…

Kākāpō death toll from aspergillosis rises by one to seven, while nine birds have been given a clean bill of health. Sad and positive news from the frontline of the fight to save kākāpō, in ep 20 of…

Helium is the second most abundant element in the universe and possibly the most unreactive element on the periodic table, says Prof Allan Blackman from AUT, in ep 34 of Elemental.

Hafnium is named after Copenhagen and as it has a very high melting point it was used in the thruster nozzles of the Apollo Lunar modules, according to Elemental's Allan Blackman from AUT.

Twice a year tawaki or Fiordland crested penguins make migrations of many thousands of kilometres to the south to feed at the Polar Front.

Eight years ago volunteers began translocating fluttering shearwater chicks to Wellington's Matiu Somes Island to establish what is now a growing seabird colony.

The NZ bird atlas will be a 5-year project counting common & rare birds from the Kermadecs to the far south.

Gold is highly valued for its colour as well as for being malleable and ductile, and as a noble metal it is unreactive and doesn't rust, says Allan Blackman from AUT in ep 32 of Elemental.

Germanium is a metalloid that was a key element in early transistors and is now used in optical fibres and infrared night vision scopes, says Allan Blackman from AUT in ep 31 of Elemental.

New research shows Wellington's underground streams are important homes and highways for freshwater fish.