Why has the periodic table endured for 150 years? It’s an amazing tool that can compress a huge amount of information into one format. It’s one of the first things people learn about chemistry.

No word on what 115, 117 and 118 might be called. With last week’s announcement, a total of 26 elements have been added to the periodic table since 1940. But Shaughnessy said her team isn’t done.

FEWER U’S The official discovery of elements 113, 115, 117 and 118 means that all 118 elements in the periodic table’s first seven rows have been found on Earth or produced in the lab.

In December, the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry officially recognized the discovery of elements 113, 115, 117 and 118, filling out the seventh row of the periodic table (SN: 2/6 ...