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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.
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Clint Witchalls
Health + Medicine Editor
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Daniel dal Zennaro/EPA
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.
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Rumbles elephants make travel through the air and the ground.
Beth Mortimer
Michael Reinwald, University of Oxford; Beth Mortimer, University of Oxford
African elephants stay in touch over large distances. We found out how.
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Shutterstock/ivan_kislitsin
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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Environment + Energy
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Helen Parish, University of Reading
If it rains on St Swithin's day it is believed that it will rain for the rest of summer.
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Matthew Lackner, University of Massachusetts Amherst
Some of the most powerful offshore wind is over water too deep for a standard wind turbine. Engineers found a way around the problem.
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Samuel Ayokunle Olówósejéjé, University College Cork
Hybrid energy systems that combine renewable and non-renewable fuel systems could be the key to sub-Saharan Africa's energy transition.
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Politics + Society
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Mashupye Herbert Maserumule, Tshwane University of Technology
After 1994 efforts were made to embed democracy. The focus was on policy and institution-building. What was missing was ensuring all South Africans were on board.
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Rachel Douglas, University of Glasgow
Why the rest of the world needs to listen to Haitian voices and take a longer view of Haiti’s unique history.
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Rachel Anne Gillett, Utrecht University
The racist abuse of sports heroes in Europe has a long, ugly history.
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Health + Medicine
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Diane Xue, University of Washington; Hanley Kingston, University of Washington
Using a technique called admixture mapping, researchers can leverage the diversity of people with mixed ancestry to look for hard-to-find genetic risk factors for diseases like Alzheimer's disease.
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Bethan Swift, University of Oxford; Christian Becker, University of Oxford
Despite side effects, women continue to take contraceptives because there are no better options available.
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Arts + Culture
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Kodi Maier, University of Hull
The latest Disney-Pixar film has been seen as containing queer themes, but what is the animation studio trying to achieve?
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Business + Economy
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Carol A Adams, Durham University; Subhash Abhayawansa, Swinburne University of Technology
The rules around risk reporting are changing, but there's still a long way to go.
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Science + Technology
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Gillian Cook, Liverpool John Moores University
Fans feel some of the same emotions as players – and sometimes it can all be too much.
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Featured events
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Sustainable Places Research Institute, Cardiff University, Cardiff, Cardiff [Caerdydd GB-CRD], CF10 3BA, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland — Cardiff University
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Whiteknights House, PO Box 217, Reading, Reading, RG6 6AH, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland — University of Reading
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University of Essex, Wivenhoe Park, Colchester, Essex, CO4 3SQ, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland — University of Essex
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