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
Variant watch: Evolutionary pathways wide open for Omicron
Anthony Fauci, the top medical adviser to the US President, said it is technically possible that Omicron could hasten the end of the pandemic, if it proves true that the variant, with its high degree of transmissibility, replaces other strains of the virus that cause more severe infections.
Updated on Jan 06, 2022 05:03 AM IST
Binayak Dasgupta, Hindustan Times, New Delhi
Omicron variant watch: Fast, even if not as furious, needs disciplined response
Lab studies in the recent month have shown the virus multiplies more intensely in the bronchus – the passage leading to the lungs – but less efficiently in the lungs.
Updated on Jan 05, 2022 12:54 AM IST
Binayak Dasgupta, Hindustan Times, New Delhi
Omicron variant watch: More hospital risk insight in South African data
South African experts have submitted a new study analysing the early days of the Omicron outbreak in the province, including the first age-wise break-up of hospitalisation rates.
Updated on Jan 04, 2022 07:33 AM IST
Binayak Dasgupta, Hindustan Times, New Delhi
The year ahead: A year of hope and caution
A less virulent variant and a host of new drugs and doses bring optimism, but the virus might still pack surprises
Published on Jan 01, 2022 05:02 PM IST
Variant watch: Scotland study finds Omicron made a major shift
The researchers corroborate two findings that have been reported by several scientists in the last month – the variant is very resistant to antibodies from vaccinated people, and it is bad at infecting lung cells.
Updated on Dec 31, 2021 10:55 PM IST
Binayak Dasgupta, New Delhi
Reading a virus: From Alpha to Omicron
A sense of hope dominated the last few months of 2020 after the first coronavirus vaccines were approved and administered in some parts of the world
Updated on Dec 31, 2021 06:08 PM IST
Dec 31: What we know about the Omicron variant so far
Two studies, both released this week, confirmed the T Cell connection to the theory that Omicron is likely to lead to milder disease than Delta did.
Published on Dec 31, 2021 12:10 AM IST
Binayak Dasgupta, New Delhi
Dec 29: What we know about the Omicron variant so far
On Wednesday, Delhi logged 923 new Covid-19 cases, its highest in a single-day in several months.
Published on Dec 30, 2021 12:09 AM IST
Binayak Dasgupta, New Delhi
Dec 28: What more we know about Omicron
As the second week of December began, the number of new Covid-19 cases began to inch up in Delhi.
Published on Dec 28, 2021 11:24 PM IST
Binayak Dasgupta, New Delhi
Variant watch: Time to rethink Covid metrics, open up India data
To look at it differently, if Delta variant caused 100 infections in, say, a week and led to four hospitalisations, Omicron would likely cause 300 infections with six hospitalisations in the same period.
Updated on Dec 28, 2021 06:03 AM IST
Binayak Dasgupta, Hindustan Times, New Delhi
Variant watch: UK govt study backs lower Omicron severity risk
In its latest technical briefing on Sars-CoV-2 variants, released late on Thursday, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said there was a 50-70% reduced risk of hospital admission for Omicron infections compared to the Delta variant.
Updated on Dec 25, 2021 02:18 AM IST
Binayak Dasgupta, Hindustan Times, New Delhi
‘AstraZeneca shots, booster effective against Omicron’
The findings hold significant implication for India, where close to 90% of the 1.4 billion doses are of Covishield
Published on Dec 24, 2021 12:09 AM IST
Binayak Dasgupta and Rhythma Kaul, New Delhi
Variant watch: Hospital risk for Omicron 40-45% lower, says UK study
The findings are the first encouraging scientific evidence linked to the variant of concern (VOC) discovered last month when it started tearing through parts of South Africa at a rate not seen with any other Sars-Cov-2 variant.
Updated on Dec 24, 2021 12:24 PM IST
Binayak Dasgupta, Hindustan Times, New Delhi
Variant watch: First SA study says Omicron may be less severe but with riders
The study offers the first insights after standardising data based on age and gender, the two factors that dictate severity and hospitalisation risks.
Updated on Dec 23, 2021 04:42 AM IST
Binayak Dasgupta, New Delhi
Dec 21: What we know about Omicron so far
The trend, and whether it reflects the actual outbreak dynamics, could hold some lessons for regions preparing to face an Omicron wave.
Updated on Dec 22, 2021 03:22 AM IST
Binayak Dasgupta, New Delhi
Dec 20: What more we know about Omicron today
At present, the South African experts stress, this is not enough to make a sound conclusion of Omicron being milder.
Updated on Dec 21, 2021 12:15 AM IST
Binayak Dasgupta, New Delhi
Variant watch: What more we know of Omicron today
The researchers studied the mechanism of infection of the latest variant of concern by looking at how it infected lab-grown lung cells.
Updated on Dec 20, 2021 04:55 AM IST
Binayak Dasgupta, New Delhi
What we know about Omicron variant so far
Two new outbreak analyses in UK said on Friday that early data provides no evidence of Omicron being milder.
Updated on Dec 18, 2021 04:50 AM IST
Binayak Dasgupta, Hindustan Times, New Delhi
What we know about Omicron variant so far
It is not too far-fetched to think that this Sars-CoV-2 is now only a mutation or two away from being pan-resistant to current antibodies, the authors of a study wrote
Updated on Dec 17, 2021 04:08 AM IST
Binayak Dasgupta, Hindustan Times, New Delhi
What we know about Omicron
The new research, currently under peer review, was based on a lab study in which the scientists examined the way an isolated Omicron variant infected tissues taken from different parts of the respiratory tract, and compared it with similar experiments using other versions of the virus.
Updated on Dec 16, 2021 05:06 AM IST
Binayak Dasgupta, New Delhi
Variant watch: What we know about Omicron
Does the Omicron variant lead to milder Covid-19? It seems so, according to what may be the first large-scale analysis of cases in South Africa, where the newest variant of concern was first seen
Updated on Dec 15, 2021 04:54 AM IST
Binayak Dasgupta, Hindustan Times, New Delhi
What we know about Omicron variant so far
Omicron is confirmed to have two of the three most threatening traits a mutated Sars-CoV-2 can pick up: it is more transmissible and resistant than any configuration of the coronavirus that causes Covid-19.
Updated on Dec 14, 2021 01:27 AM IST
Binayak Dasgupta, Hindustan Times, New Delhi
December 12: What more we know about Omicron
Late last week, the first real-world evidence arrived of how vaccine efficacy against symptomatic Covid-19 all but erodes in case of an infection with the Omicron variant
Published on Dec 12, 2021 11:58 PM IST
Binayak Dasgupta, Hindustan Times, New Delhi
December 10: What more we know about Omicron variant so far
In England alone, the variant is likely to lead to 60,000 cases a day by Christmas, the Guardian newspaper reported, citing epidemiologist John Edmunds at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
Updated on Dec 11, 2021 12:09 AM IST
Binayak Dasgupta, Hindustan Times, New Delhi
December 9: What we know about Omicron today
The variant was designated as being of concern (VOC) after it showed a clear ability to spread much faster than other configurations of the Sars-CoV-2.
Published on Dec 10, 2021 12:01 AM IST
Binayak Dasgupta, Hindustan Times, New Delhi
December 8: What we know about Omicron variant so far
Scientists found that there was a 41.4-fold drop in neutralisation ability overall, to the point that variant almost completely escaped the antibodies from most fully vaccinated samples.
Published on Dec 09, 2021 12:09 AM IST
Binayak Dasgupta, Hindustan Times, New Delhi
December 7: What we know about Omicron so far
Omicron’s sequence was shared on November 22, South African authorities reported its spread on Novembe r 25, and it was designated a variant of concern on November 26.
Updated on Dec 08, 2021 06:42 AM IST
Binayak Dasgupta, Hindustan Times, New Delhi
December 6: What we know about Omicron variant so far
Before superspreader variants such as Alpha and Delta, it was estimated only about 20% of the cases were responsible for passing the virus on to the remaining 80% of infected people, which meant the uncertainty did not just manifest in symptoms, but also in how it spread.
Published on Dec 07, 2021 05:04 AM IST
Binayak Dasgupta, Hindustan Times, New Delhi
December 6: What we know about the Omicron variant so far
Binayak Dasgupta In the first half of 2020, the most pressing scientific mystery was why Sars-Cov-2 caused wildly inconsistent symptoms and outcomes
Published on Dec 07, 2021 12:13 AM IST
December 5: What we know about Omicron variant so far
The number of Omicron cases and their share in genotyped samples has consistently risen across several parts of the world over the weekend
Updated on Dec 06, 2021 12:29 AM IST
Binayak Dasgupta, New Delhi
