Articles

  • article
    Network of people

    Six degrees of separation

    We explore the maths that helps explain this well-known phenomenon, which says that any two people around the world are likely to be connected through a surprisingly short chain of acquaintance links.

  • article
    Random walk

    Maths in a minute: Random walks

    Random walks are great for modelling anything that moves, from particles to people. They're also fun, versatile and beautiful!

  • article
    Julian Sahasrabudhe

    Counting on connections

    Julian Sahasrabudhe wins a Whitehead Prize for combining different areas of maths using the power of combinatorics.

  • article
    dice

    Stochastic spread

    When a new infectious disease enters a population everything depends on who catches it — superspreaders or people with few contacts who don't pass it on.  We investigate the stochastic nature of the early stages of an outbreak.

  • article
    simulation

    Boson stars: Beyond vanilla

    Physicists have figured out how we might detect hypothetical boson stars. If we do, then this would count as a major step towards solving the riddle of dark matter,

  • article
    Illustration of coronavirus

    Preparing for Disease X

    Experts in public health, industry and disease modelling came together this summer to discuss how maths can prepare for the next pandemic.

  • article
    Street signs

    Maths in a minute: Cayley graphs

    Trying to solve a Rubik's cube? A Cayley graph gives you a road map for doing this — and is similarly useful for dealing with any other type of mathematical group!

  • article
    measuring tape

    Maths in a minute: Measure

    Learn how lengths, areas, and volumes generalise to the concept of measure, and how this relates to integration and probability.