Rules for element discovery get superheavy revamp

The criteria for whether a new chemical element has been discovered are set to change, a provisional report by the International Unions for Pure and Applied Chemistry (Iupac) and Physics (Iupap) has announced. Although the report states it ‘cannot present a list of criteria for checking … where the number of fulfilled criteria decides on the discovery’, it does suggest the weight to give different physical and chemical techniques when deciding if an element has been discovered.