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On the Cover

November-December 2010 Volume 98, Number 6

In 2008, a deep-sea imaging system deployed by a New Zealand government research vessel, the Tangaroa, observed this new species of crinoids. ...

FEATURE ARTICLES

An Empire Lacking Food

Once viewed as a barren expanse, the deep seafloor is a biologically elaborate ecosystem whose fate is tied to life above, near the sea surface

The Anatomy of a Neutron *

Timothy Paul Smith

The “neutral” part of the atom is far more than buffer or ballast—when viewed at the correct scale

The 95 Percent Solution *

John H. Falk, Lynn D. Dierking

School is not where most Americans learn most of their science

* access restricted to members and subscribers

SCIENTISTS’ BOOKSHELF

Beauty and the Beast

Joan Roughgarden

A review of Looking for a Few Good Males: Female Choice in Evolutionary Biology, by Erika Lorraine Milam. As Milam’s history of sexual selection demonstrates, the subject of how secondary sexual characteristics evolve has been contentious and politically loaded ever since Darwin first theorized about it. Roughgarden notes that the science is still far from settled

See all book reviews for this issue.

DEPARTMENTS

MACROSCOPE

Strategy Versus Evolution

Reaching President Obama's CO₂ emissions goal for 2050 will require strategic planning

COMPUTING SCIENCE

Recreational Computing

Puzzles and tricks from Martin Gardner inspire math and science

Erik D. Demaine

ENGINEERING

Rereading Vitruvius*

The best of books stand the test of time—both physically and intellectually

MARGINALIA

The Cutting Edge

Can stone-tool marks on fossils be distinguished from tooth marks?

SIGHTINGS

Zooming In on Mars

A new map available online shows more of the red planet in greater detail than ever

Catherine Clabby

SCIENCE OBSERVER

Rationally Engineering Chemo

The chemotherapeutic agent cisplatin, a treatment of first resort for malignant tumors, receives a striking upgrade

Brains Like To Keep It Real

Text and images may be king on the Internet, but people in a position to buy seem to prefer the real thing

Catherine Clabby

Hang Up and Ride

Listening to a passenger’s cell phone conversation may impair driving

David Schoonmaker

LETTERS TO THE EDITORS

River Blindness: An Old Foe

Cancer Progress for Whom?

Not So Fast with Thorium

Sheets Aren’t Cheats

SIGMA XI TODAY (PDF)

2010 Year-End Index

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American Scientist Classics

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