News story

Prime time

Two computer science students and their professor prove testing for primes is easy - a result that has eluded mathematicians for centuries.
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justice

Beyond reasonable doubt

In 1999 solicitor Sally Clark was found guilty of murdering her two baby sons. Highly flawed statistical arguments may have been crucial in securing her conviction. As her second appeal approaches, Plus looks at the case and finds out how courts deal with statistics.
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icon

Blast it like Beckham?

What tactics should a soccer player use when taking a penalty kick? And what can the goalkeeper do to foil his plans? John Haigh uses Game Theory to find the answers, and looks at his World Cup predictions from last issue.

Article

Safety in numbers

Today's digital world with its free flow of information, would not exist without cryptography to guarantee our privacy. Plus meets mathematician, author and broadcaster Simon Singh to find out about the science of secrecy.
News story

Dirac Centennial

100 years after the birth of Paul Dirac, mathematicians and physicists gather to celebrate his beautiful work.
Article

Tying it all up

Theoretical physicists are searching for a 'Theory of Everything' to reconcile quantum mechanics and relativity - the two great physical theories of the twentieth century. String theory is a current hot favourite, and some of the world's most eminent physicists tell us why.