A recent study from Harvard reported that eating red meat is
associated with a 13% increased risk of death. But what does
this mean? Surely our risk of death is already 100%, and a risk
of 113% does not seem very sensible? To really interpret this
number we need to use some maths. The men's and women's 100
metre freestyle swimming races are set to be two of the most
glamorous events of the London 2012 Olympic Games. Much has been
made of the swimming events for London 2012 because the previous
2008 Beijing Olympics saw an unprecedented number of new world
records, due to the use of controversial swimsuits. So how do
these suits improve performance? If you look at the pattern of
rowers in a racing four or eight rowing boat then you expect to
find them positioned in a symmetrical fashion, alternately
right-left, right-left as you go from one end of the boat to the
other. However, the regularity of the rower's positions hides a
significant asymmetry that affects the way the boat will move
through the water. Rece