MORE than a decade since it was first spotted, element 112, the newest element in the periodic table, has arrived at the finish line, winning its chemical symbol at last.

The name “copernicium” was suggested last year by the element’s discoverers, led by Sigurd Hofmann at the Centre for Heavy Ion Research in Darmstadt, Germany. Now the International Union for Pure and Applied Chemistry has given its official seal of approval – and announced that its symbol will be Cn. “It is good to have a final decision on it,” says John Corish of IUPAC.

IUPAC has given copernicium its official approval and announced that its …