Bacon sandwiches, drinking while pregnant, obesity - health risks are a favourite with the media. But behind the simple numbers quoted in the headlines lies a huge and sophisticated body of statistical research. We talk to Professor Sheila Bird of the Biostatistics Unit in Cambridge about her work in public health and its impact on policy, and discuss bias in pharmaceutical studies, as recently highlighted by the controversy around antidepressants.

Prestigious mathematics prize goes to group theorists

Alexander Grothendiek turns 80

The first third degree transcendental L-function

Conversations across science and art

The Further Mathematics Network and Rolls Royce combine for national mathematics poster competition

This issue's teacher package brings together all Plus articles on probability and statistics, exploring anything from maths in the dock to games of chance. It also has some handy links to related problems on our sister site NRICH.

Bonuses are a fact of business life. Last year the Guardian newspaper calculated that the cash rewards paid to London's financial chiefs comfortably outstripped the UK's entire transport budget. With such large sums at stake, envy is bound to raise its ugly head, nver a good thing for company morale. So how should you decide who gets how much? Steven J. Brams suggests a method that's not only fair, but also encourages honesty.

Lewis Dartnell turns the universe into a matrix to model traffic, forest fires and sprawling cities.

It's easier than you think