Spike the yttrium atom with an extra neutron and it becomes a microscopic loose cannon. Yttrium-89, the normal and docile metal turns into the intensely radioactive isotope Yttrium-90 after being showered with a stream of neutrons. The new resulting atom becomes so unstable that it can’t last much longer than a week or two at most before that extra neutron gains a positive charge. When this happens it becomes an altogether new element, zirconium in this case. Yttrium-90’s crazy high radioactivity has been put to use as a cancer fighting drug. Trapped inside chemical delivery vehicles, it is targeted at a tumor where it delivers the gift of decaying yttrium. Finding the bull’s eye, the cancerous cell, otherwise so good at staying alive despite its host’s best efforts, has utterly zero chance against Yttrium Gone Bad. The instant that it decays into zirconium a flash of energy is delivered which cooks that naughty cell to a crisp. Well Done!

Unfortunately, yttrium-90 is not a reliable ally. If the delivery meds miss the target it’s healthy tissue that ends up getting walloped with atomic hate. Cancer researchers still need to tweak the weapon further before we can claim our victory lap on this dreaded disease.

Meanwhile, here’s the standard and super well-behaved version of yttrium that will happily stay yttrium until such time the vestiges of our planet are subsumed into the maelstrom of a cosmic black hole. No worries, this is still a few decades in the future.