What are the key facts about Marie Curie and her discoveries, including elements she named and her contributions during WWI?

Here are the answers to your questions:

1. Elements are the building blocks of the universe, making up everything around us, including metals and gases.
2. Marie named the first new element, polonium, after her home country, Poland. The second element, radium, was named from the Latin word for ray because it gave off light.
3. The Curies were the first to use the word radioactivity.
4. The X-ray trucks Marie organised during World War I were called 'petite Curies' (or 'little Curies').
5. Marie's failing health was caused by over-exposure to radium and its radioactivity, as she had worked unprotected for many years.