Binayak reports on information security, privacy and scientific research in health and environment with explanatory pieces. He also edits the news sections of the newspaper.
Articles by Binayak Dasgupta
‘China’s Covid wave worse than estimated, peak of 36k deaths a day likely’
China re-opened its borders on January 8 after having abruptly ended its so-called Zero Covid policy of frequent testing, travel curbs and mass lockdowns the month before, prompted by unprecedented nationwide protests
Updated on Jan 17, 2023 10:06 PM IST
The year ahead: Glimpses into 2023
India, the world’s largest democracy and one of the world’s largest consumer markets, will likely begin working to pass new laws too, with lasting implications for companies such as Meta, Google and Twitter.
Published on Dec 31, 2022 06:14 PM IST
By Binayak Dasgupta and Vishal Mathur
The year ahead: Can it be tech to the rescue?
Breakthroughs in nuclear fusion and CO2 conversion could revolutionise the power sector, but this could take a few decades. New approaches to food production are welcome. As the climate crisis intensifies, now amid the Russian war in Ukraine, this will be a crucial year for talks
Updated on Dec 31, 2022 06:01 PM IST
The Covid-19 shadow still looms
With the virus now sparing no one, Long Covid was a serious problem to deal with, which easily was the most important implication of how the pandemic had changed in its third year.
Updated on Dec 31, 2022 12:12 AM IST
A million infections and 5,000 deaths a day from Covid in China: Study
The new estimates were provided by London-based Airfinity, which predicted cases to continue to rise in China with two likely peaks, one in mid-January and the second in early March.
Updated on Dec 23, 2022 05:17 AM IST
A new chapter in ‘Twitter Files’
American journalist Bari Weiss posted a Twitter thread to allege the company, under its old management, created secret blacklists of users whose reach was restricted, the second instalment in what is now being called the Twitter Files.
Published on Dec 10, 2022 12:23 AM IST
Binayak Dasgupta, New Delhi
Ransomware attackers say AIIMS ‘deadline’ has ended
The warning came from an email address known to authorities and is a part of the investigation, although HT could not independently verify whether the people replying from it were indeed behind the hack.
Updated on Dec 06, 2022 09:00 AM IST
Binayak Dasgupta, New Delhi
‘China risks 1.3-2.1mn lives if it ends zero-Covid strategy’
Science analytics company Airfinity used trends from Hong Kong’s Omicron (BA.1) wave as a proxy for how an outbreak could play out in China, where protests have erupted across the country over the stifling Covid-19 containment strategy.
Updated on Nov 28, 2022 11:42 PM IST
Ransomware attack: Cyber terrorism probe as AIIMS services paralysed
According to a police officer, the preliminary investigation has hinted that the cyber attack may have been perpetrated from outside India.
Updated on Nov 25, 2022 02:43 AM IST
New data bill at odds with privacy ruling, say experts
The Union ministry for electronics and technology shared the Digital Data Protection Bill, 2022, on Friday for public comments and the proposal is likely to be brought to parliament in the upcoming winter session.
Updated on Nov 19, 2022 05:54 AM IST
Deeksha Bhardwaj and Binayak Dasgupta, New Delhi
Data bill eases transfer rules, raises penalties
The Centre on Friday unveiled the Digital Data Protection Bill for public consultation, having redrawn a long-delayed law that will provide the legal framework for the fundamental right to privacy of Indian citizens with major implications for tech companies and digital businesses.
Updated on Nov 19, 2022 05:58 AM IST
Deeksha Bhardwaj and Binayak Dasgupta, New Delhi
Pollution raises risk of childhood stunting, leading to lifelong impact: Study
New Delhi: Children in parts of India with high air pollution are more likely to be stunted or severely stunted, according to a study that for the first time looks at how dirty air affects the development of children
Updated on Nov 04, 2022 02:14 PM IST
Winter Covid outbreak on the cards? Worry over converging virus strains
A new set of Sars-CoV-2 variants, all offshoots of the Omicron classification of the virus, appear to be picking up the same sort of genetic traits after following different evolutionary journeys, prompting concern among experts that it could portend the arrival of a “fitter” version that might lead to a spurt in cases in coming months.
Published on Oct 07, 2022 11:30 PM IST
Binayak Dasgupta, New Delhi
Legal protections for Big Tech need review
While Joe Biden’s intent is positive, it remains devoid of specifics of how any of this will happen, especially given the partisan divide in American politics on the issue
Updated on Sep 21, 2022 08:02 PM IST
Behind the troll storm over catch spilled against Pak
Indian cricketer Arshdeep Singh was the target of vicious online trolling after his side lost to Pakistan in the Asia Cup game on Sunday night, with an anonymous user, possibly based in Pakistan, vandalising his Wikipedia page to claim he was linked to the separatist Khalistani movement.
Updated on Sep 06, 2022 10:28 AM IST
Binayak Dasgupta and Deeksha Bhardwaj, New Delhi
Arshdeep Singh’s Wikipedia page vandalised to show Khalistan link, fixed later
Reports indicate that the crowd-sourced digital encyclopaedia may be asked to explain why these changes were done by the government of India
Updated on Sep 05, 2022 01:01 PM IST
Long Covid real, can last from 90 to 150 days: Study
Long Covid, a loosely defined set of conditions that people report after having caught Covid-19, is yet to be properly understood, either for the biology involved or its estimated prevalence.
Updated on Aug 05, 2022 12:07 PM IST
AlphaFold: AI tool predicts structures for nearly all-known proteins
Proteins are commonly referred as the building blocks of life, made up on some combination of amino acids. It is easy to identify a protein by its constituent amino acid, but this is just one-dimensional information
Updated on Jul 31, 2022 11:46 PM IST
India plans action | Should Big Tech pay for news?
Over the last five years, several nations and large blocs, such as the European Union and Australia , have backed this by statute, forcing internet giants to begin paying for content they use or enter into agreements with news publishers.
Updated on Jul 28, 2022 09:58 AM IST
Binayak Dasgupta, New Delhi
Why the Omicron sub-variant BA.2.75 is being monitored
World Health Organization officials confirmed on Wednesday that a new sub-lineage of the Omicron variant — classified as the BA.2.75 — appears to be growing in India, where it was first found.
Updated on Jul 08, 2022 03:33 PM IST
Binayak Dasgupta, New Delhi
In Perspective | AI and the red herring of chasing sentience
Google engineer Lemoine’s contention is that we have, and a particular portion of his conversation with LaMDA best demonstrates why he thinks so
Updated on Jun 17, 2022 05:56 PM IST
Understanding Big Tech’s ad dominance and the latest bid to break it up
The dominance in the entire ecosystem, paired with the dominance of their products (Google Search, Alphabet’s YouTube, Meta’s Instagram, etc.) in their respective domains make for a potent recipe that leads to monopolistic outcomes
Published on May 24, 2022 01:53 PM IST
True Covid toll 14.9mn,India count 4.7mn: WHO
At least 4
Updated on May 06, 2022 04:39 PM IST
Jamie Mullick and Binayak Dasgupta, New Delhi
The virus before Covid-19 changed the world forever
The global legacy of the Sars outbreak 19 years ago has been mirrored in what India has witnessed over the last two years.
Updated on Apr 30, 2022 06:20 AM IST
Chew on this study: Dogs don’t stick to breed stereotypes!
The researchers, who started the project to study compulsive behaviour in dogs eight years ago, suggested that dogs don’t stick to some of the starkest of stereotypes attributed to various breeds
Updated on Apr 29, 2022 12:03 PM IST
Binayak Dasgupta, New Delhi:
Group of 60 nations back US push for an ‘open’ internet
The Declaration for the Future of the Internet was signed by 60 partners, according to officials in the US, which headed the effort, counting European Union nations, Australia, New Zealand and Japan as partners
Updated on Apr 29, 2022 12:09 PM IST
Binayak Dasgupta and Prashant Jha
In Perspective | Twitter under Musk: Absolute free speech won’t work
The libertarian idea of speech online today has weaknesses: Not all speech is equal, and not all communities suffer equally when free speech is abused.
Published on Apr 26, 2022 07:27 PM IST
How concerning is Omicron offshoot?
Experts say that panic over these detections may be premature, and while there are Omicron variant sub-lineages with growth advantage over their predecessor, this is largely expected and represents a typical evolutionary trajectory.
Updated on Apr 22, 2022 06:41 AM IST
Senior UK officials, PMO hacked using Pegasus: New report
Canada-based Citizen Labs, which first uncovered the widespread deployment of Pegasus in 2018, said in its report that “multiple suspected instances” of the spyware’s infection were found within official UK networks in 2020 and 2021.
Updated on Apr 19, 2022 12:51 AM IST
Binayak Dasgupta, New Delhi
Chinese hackers targeted 7 Indian power hubs, govt says ops failed
The incident is the latest in a string of cyber espionage attributed to groups based in China, with past attacks targeting critical infrastructure such as power plants
Updated on Apr 08, 2022 06:43 AM IST
