Which is your favourite chemical element? In a new series to mark the International Year of the Periodic Table, our science journalists will be arguing for their pick from the 118 known elements. In ...

After two decades of debate, scientists are getting closer to figuring out exactly what the sun — and thus the whole universe — is made of. The sun is mostly composed of hydrogen and helium. There are ...

Nitrogen is essential for growth and development of living things. It’s involved with almost all aspects of life: in amino acids that constitute protein, in DNA and RNA that control genetic ...

Most of Earth's life-essential elements probably arrived with the planetary collision that produced the moon. Petrologists now conclude Earth most likely received the bulk of its carbon, nitrogen and ...

Following years of attention to surplus nitrogen in the environment, our evolving understanding has led to new concerns about nitrogen insufficiency in areas of the world that do not receive ...

Credit: Shutterstock with added elements. Over 99% of a human cell is made up of just five elements: carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, and phosphorus. That same elemental mix exists, with minor ...

In aquaculture, scientific introduction of nitrogen is necessary to achieve economic production and prevent environmental pollution. Litopenaeus vannamei (L. vannamei) is an important species in the ...