PRODUCING ELEMENT 114 is the goal of groups at Berkeley, Dubna, and Damrstadt. This element, at least the isotope containing 184 neutrons and 114 protons, is expected to be stable compared to its neighbors in the chart of the nuclides, with an expected lifetime of years rather than milliseconds or microseconds. The longevity of the nucleus, like the chemical inertness of the noble gases, is attributable to closed shells, in this case completed configurations of neutrons and protons. The three groups all plan new experiments for the coming year. In Berkeley, for example, they will collide calcium ions with plutonium to try and make an isotope of element 114. (Science, 24 October 1997.)