Plus.Maths.org
List by Author: Rachel Thomas
How were the vaccines tested? 
Like any medical drug, vaccines are tested in large-scale randomised controlled trials.
How effective are the vaccines — and how do we know this? 
The efficacy of vaccines is estimated from trials, using statistical techniques.
Since herd immunity will protect us all, why do I need to get vaccinated? 
Because the vaccine may not stop transmission of the virus.
Are the vaccines safe? 
Yes the approved vaccines are safe. If you balance the risks, then taking the vaccine is much safer than taking your chances with COVID-19.
The agent perspective 
How do we learn and understand the world? What separates us from machines? Yoshua Bengio believes it all comes down to our agency.
Building meaning: dog or ostrich 
How do we build our models of the world? Yoshua Bengio explains how deep learning will help machines act to understand the world in a similar way.
The growth rate of COVID-19 
We all now know about R, but sometimes it can be good to consider another number: the growth rate of an epidemic.
The maths behind combining R ratios 
In a previous article we introduced the problems that can arise when combine the reproduction ratios of a disease in different settings, such as hospitals and the community. In this article we dive into the maths that helps you get to the bottom of these problems.
The problem with combining R ratios 
We explore why you need to be extremely careful when combining the reproduction ratios of a disease in different settings, such as hospitals and the community.
John Conway: Life, the Universe, everything and mathematics 
We reflect on the late John Conway, the thoughts he shared with us over two interviews, and the experience of meeting him as a person and a mathematician.
A call to action on COVID-19 
An urgent call has gone out to the scientific modelling community to help fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. Two Cambridge mathematicians are helping to lead the charge.
