Constructing symplectic forms on 4-manifolds which vanish on circles

Given a smooth, closed, oriented 4-manifold X and alpha in H_2(X,Z) such that alpha.alpha > 0, a closed 2-form w is constructed, Poincare dual to alpha, which is symplectic on the complement of a finite set of unknotted circles. The number of circles, counted with sign, is given by d = (c_1(s)^2 -3sigma(X) -2chi(X))/4, where s is a certain spin^C structure naturally associated to w.Comment: Published by Geometry and Topology at http://www.maths.warwick.ac.uk/gt/GTVol8/paper20.abs.htm

Reconstructing 4-manifolds from Morse 2-functions

Given a Morse 2-function $f: X^4 \to S^2$, we give minimal conditions on the fold curves and fibers so that $X^4$ and $f$ can be reconstructed from a certain combinatorial diagram attached to $S^2$. Additional remarks are made in other dimensions.Comment: 13 pages, 10 figures. Replaced because the main theorem in the original is false. The theorem has been corrected and counterexamples to the original statement are give

Why is Our Food Making Us Sick?

The crowded, stressful conditions on factory farms are not only horrific for animals; they can have devastating implications for human healt

A Killer Show

An excerpt from the forthcoming book Death at SeaWorld takes a hard-hitting look at the marine mammal display industry in the wake of the February 2010 trainer death at SeaWorld Orlando