Physicists is Russia and the US have identified two new elements, created in experiments in the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research (JINR) in Dubna, a small town near Moscow is Russia. Elements 113 and 115 were made by colliding a twin beam of calcium-48 ions and an americium-243 target. The same team discovered the element 114 in 1998 and element 116 two years later. They display an unusual, and very fast, decay processes eventually forming an isotope of Dubnium.
In 1999 a scandal hit the world of research into superheavy elements. Victor Ninov of the Lawrence Bereley National Laboratory claimed with his colleagues that they had created an atom with 118 protons. However, Ninov was the only person to analyse the data and it later emerged that he had fabricated the data. He was later sacked. This has harmed others and their credibility trying to prove discoveries due to the increased amounts of tests.
The Island of Stability is the name given to a group of superheavy elements with relatively long half-lives compared to other superheavies. This is due to them being near the next doubly magic nucleus. For a long time experts have theorised that this number is 114 but they are no longer certain. Current theories predict different magic numbers and the recent experiment in Dubna should help them decide which theory describes reality best.