You may have read recently that more vaccinated people are dying of COVID-19 than unvaccinated. And, indeed, as more people get the jab, you are likely to hear this more often. People pushing anti-vaccine messages online are using this statistic to try to convince people that the vaccines don’t work. But the vaccines are working just fine.

The reason more vaccinated people than unvaccinated people are getting COVID-19 is the same reason most car accidents involve sober drivers. It’s called the base-rate fallacy. Kit Yates skillfully explains the maths behind this phenomenon.

African elephants are endangered, and knowing where they are is critical for their protection. Scientists have found an ingenious way to locate them using seismometers – instruments usually used for detecting earthquakes.

Most people love chocolate, but the cocoa in the product may come from ethically dubious suppliers. Tracking the supply chain to the source can be tricky, but a new method using biomarkers could make it a lot easier.

Clint Witchalls

Health + Medicine Editor

Daniel dal Zennaro/EPA

Most COVID deaths in England now are in the vaccinated – here’s why that shouldn’t alarm you

Christian Yates, University of Bath

The latest UK data shows that nearly two-thirds of people who died of COVID between February 1 and June 21 had been vaccinated.

Rumbles elephants make travel through the air and the ground. Beth Mortimer

Rumble in the jungle: an ear to the ground can tell us how elephants are faring in the wild

Michael Reinwald, University of Oxford; Beth Mortimer, University of Oxford

African elephants stay in touch over large distances. We found out how.

Shutterstock/ivan_kislitsin

Chocolate – a new way to make sure your favourite bar is an ethical treat

Michael Rogerson, University of Bath; Glenn Parry, University of Surrey; Pedro Lafargue, University of the West of England

DNA testing for cocoa beans could fight slavery and child labour.

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