It's not often that maths makes it into the mainstream media, and when it does, it's usually a very specific bit of maths — a statistical result or a certain application — that's being examined. An article published yesterday on the Guardian website makes a nice exception. It explores how maths underlies almost every aspect of modern life, from traffic lights to iTunes. Thank you, Guardian!

You can find out more about some of the topics mentioned in the article on Plus:

• The amazing librarian explores Google's page rank algorithm;
• I'm not paying that! looks at how air fares are worked out;
• And now, the weather describes how maths is used at the Met Office;
• Why was the computer invented when it was? explains what an algorithm is and why algorithms are so effective.