How Could the Beirut Explosion Happen? Experts Explain

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August 07, 2020

Dear Reader, When explosions like the disaster in Beirut take place, investigators must sift through video footage, documents and other evidence to find out what happened. In today's lead story, Scientific American's technology editor Sophie Bushwick spoke with two explosion detectives about how they get to the roots of an incident, and what conditions can trigger an ammonium nitrate detonation. In space news, a study puts forward a new explanation for how Venus could have remained habitable for nearly three billion years before morphing into today's blistering hellscape. We also have a few updates on the coronavirus pandemic. Vaccine makers of the first two candidates in the U.S. plan to recruit 60,000 Americans to participate in late-stage clinical trials. But some experts warn that researchers must consider ethical concerns in testing and distributing vaccines against COVID-19.

Sunya Bhutta, Senior Editor, Audience Engagement @sunyaaa

Chemistry How Could the Beirut Explosion Happen? Experts Explain To get to the roots of disasters like this one, investigators rely on video footage, documents, interviews and other evidence By Sophie Bushwick

Space Model Suggests Toxic Transformation on Venus A recent study shows how Venus could have explosively changed from habitable to deadly By Shannon Hall

Medicine Thousands Volunteer for COVID-19 Vaccine Study Late-stage clinical trials of the first two coronavirus vaccine candidates in the U.S. plan to recruit 60,000 Americans By Phil Galewitz,JoNel Aleccia,Kaiser Health News

Policy & Ethics COVID-19 Vaccine Ethics: Who Gets It First and Other Issues Contributing editor W. Wayt Gibbs spoke with Arthur Caplan, head of the NYU School of Medicine's division of medical ethics, about some of the ethical issues that researchers have to consider in testing and distributing vaccines against COVID-19. By W. Wayt Gibbs,Scott Hershberger,Steve Mirsky | 24:23

Behavior & Society A Cure for COVID-19 Will Take More Than Personal Immunity Our communal systems actually do much of the heavy lifting to keep us healthy or help us heal By Ed Cohen

Evolution The World's Highest-Dwelling Mammal Lives atop a Volcano Scientists spotted a mouse at the summit of Llullaillaco, a 22,000-foot-tall volcano on the border of Chile and Argentina. Julia Rosen reports.  By Julia Rosen | 02:52

Public Health Coronavirus News Roundup: August 1-August 7 Here are pandemic highlights for the week By Robin Lloyd

Automotive Future Cars Will Be Made of Magnesium Originally published in August 1946

FROM THE STORE Mind Over Mood: Understanding Anxiety and Depression Anxiety and depression are two of the most common conditions affecting mental health and overall quality of life, but there are tools for managing them. In this eBook, we'll explore how depression shows up in the brain, different manifestations of depression and anxiety, various talk therapies, technological innovations, lifestyle interventions and more.

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FROM THE ARCHIVE Why Was the Texas Fertilizer Plant Explosion So Deadly? The substance that killed up to 15 people, injured 180 and wrecked the buildings in a five-block radius is the same stuff that makes the beans and barley grow. But not all fertilizers are equally dangerous. And the West plant may have been harboring the worst of them all By Jillian Scharr, TechNewsDaily | April 26, 2013

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