Propagation through dynamic networks: Degree distribution and the spread of disease

The question of how the topology of a network affects the network's dynamics is of current interest in many fields. Motivated by the observation of long tails in the degree distribution of human sexual contact networks, simple dynamics that can lead to this feature of real-world networks are described. The approach to this phenomenon introduced here is distinct from preferential attachment, the most well-known mechanism for generating long-tailed degree distributions. The implications of these simple dynamics for the question of epidemic spread are examined.