The things most people know about helium are that it makes balloons float up and it makes your voice squeaky if you inhale some. But helium is more than just fun and games: it is also a scarce ...

A global helium shortage is popping a giant hole in Party City's sales, forcing the retailer to close 45 stores across North America. The party supplies retailer blamed the helium shortage for its $30 ...

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

A global helium shortage has doctors worried about one of the natural gas’s most essential, and perhaps unexpected, uses: MRIs. Strange as it sounds, the lighter-than-air element that gives balloons ...

Throughout the mid-1800s, improvements on the spectroscope allowed physicists to more accurately measure the wavelengths of light and identify new elements—like helium. Wikimedia Commons “I have ...

Helium is getting hard to find these days, and it’s ruining parties for people of all ages. No helium, of course, means no helium balloons, and what's a celebration without balloons? Among moms who ...