"It's a match!" cries the CSI. At first glance it might seem that if the police have matched a suspect's DNA to evidence from the crime scene, then the case is closed. But some statistical thinking is required to understand exactly what a match is, and importantly, how juries should assess this as part of the evidence in a trial.
Tonight, in the final televised debate ahead of the election, the three main party leaders will talk about the economy, the recession, public sector debt, spending or cuts, and more. All will use statistics to back up their points or to pull apart their opponents' arguments. But how can we work out whether to believe the figures and what do they really mean?
Lack of statistical detail leads to wrong conclusions
Stats, damn stats and genetics
One in nine women will get breast cancer in her lifetime, and it seems sensible to screen women for breast cancer to treat them as early as possible. But, as David Spiegelhalter explains, screening is a controversial issue.
On May 22nd 2009 the English Premier league had one more match day ahead. Taking up a challenge from the BBC radio, David Spiegelhalter and Yin-Lam Ng used statistics to predict the outcome of the last matches — and they were 90% correct. Find out how they did it.
