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On the Cover

January-February 2004 Volume 92, Number 1

A numerical simulation shows the distribution of dark matter when the ...

FEATURE ARTICLES

Salt Marshes Under Siege *

Robert Jeffries, Mark Bertness, Brian Silliman

Agricultural practices, land development and overharvesting of the seas explain complex ecological cascades that threaten our shorelines

The Evolution of Jealousy *

Christine Harris

Did men and women, facing different selective pressures, evolve different "brands" of jealousy? Recent evidence suggests not

Human Biomonitoring of Environmental Chemicals *

Ken Sexton, Larry Needham, James Pirkle

Measuring chemicals in human tissues is the "gold standard" for assessing people's exposure to pollution

The Cosmic Web

Robert Simcoe

Observations and simulations of the intergalactic medium reveal the largest structures in the universe

Ancient Earthquakes at Lake Lucerne *

Michael Schnellmann, Flavio Anselmetti, Domenico Giardini, Judith McKenzie, Steven Ward

A recent survey of the sediments beneath a Swiss lake reveals a series of prehistoric temblors

* access restricted to members and subscribers

DEPARTMENTS

COMPUTING SCIENCE

Qwerks of History

Brian Hayes

A look at the strange longevity of certain technologies, including Intel chips and the Unix operating system

MACROSCOPE

Garrett James Hardin (Dallas 1915–Santa Barbara 2003)

Vaclav Smil

Ecologist Garrett Hardin's vivid parables popularized "the tragedy of the commons"

SIGHTINGS

Electron Landscape

Felice Frankel

Harvard physicist Eric Heller maps electrons as they course through a vista the size of a bacterium

MARGINALIA

The Story of O

Roald Hoffmann

Some surprising discoveries in oxygen chemistry and their meaning for our skies and cells

ENGINEERING

Boat Lifts *

Henry Petroski

A guided tour of the devices used to raise or lower vessels from one canal to another

SCIENCE OBSERVER

Head in Hand

Christopher R. Brodie

Handedness is closely tied to the way hair spins on the scalp

Woofers and Tweeters

Greg Ross

Infrasonic communication is now for the birds

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

IN THIS SECTION

American Scientist Classics

Authors

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