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On the Cover

September-October 2008 Volume 96, Number 5

The past half-century has witnessed incredible advances in the capabilities of satellites, leading to unprecedented insights into our planet. As Andy J. Tatem, Scott J. Goetz and Simon I. Hay report in "Fifty Years of Earth-observation Satellites," these devices, now numbering more than 150, are essential for monitoring events both natural and influenced by human activities, such as the El Nino Southern Oscillation. ...

FEATURE ARTICLES

Evolution "for the Good of the Group" *

David Sloan Wilson, Edward O. Wilson

The process known as group selection was once accepted unthinkingly, then was widely discredited; it's time for a more discriminating assessment

Fifty Years of Earth-observation Satellites *

Andrew J. Tatem, Scott J. Goetz, Simon I. Hay

Views from space have led to countless advances on the ground in both scientific knowledge and daily life

Water News: Bad, Good and Virtual *

Vaclav Smil

Rational thinking about water may be key to ensuring a clean, plentiful supply

Statins: From Fungus to Pharma

Philip A. Rea

The curiosity of biochemists, mixed with some obvious economic incentives, created a family of powerful cardiovascular drugs

* access restricted to members and subscribers

SCIENTISTS’ BOOKSHELF

Object Lessons

Peter Pesic

A review of Falling for Science: Objects in Mind. Edited and with an introduction by Sherry Turkle. These essays—most of them by students of science, and a few by senior scientists—illuminate the importance of early relationships with objects

See all book reviews for this issue.