Add Yahoo as a preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Applied mathematicians use math to model real-world situations. Ariel Skelley/DigitalVision via Getty Images You can probably think of a time when you've used math to solve an everyday ...

You can probably think of a time when you’ve used math to solve an everyday problem, such as calculating a tip at a restaurant or determining the square footage of a room. But what role does math play in solving complex problems such as curing a disease?