If you enjoyed this article, I’d like to ask for your support. Scientific American has served as an advocate for science and industry for 180 years, and right now may be the most critical moment in ...

Rice and spinach are staples for babies’ and young children’s diets, but toxic metals and metalloids found in those foods can cause severe health impacts. In particular, heavy metals such as cadmium, ...

Elemental mapping is an imaging technique used to visualize the spatial distribution of elements within a material. X-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectrometry is a widely used analytical technique for this ...