Recent Covid Control Measures: How Much Science?

FROM the very beginning when the Covid-19 pandemic struck India in early 2020, many questions have arisen about decision-making by the union government on Covid control measures, especially about the extent to which measures instituted have been based on science or other evidence. The importance of these issues is underlined by the fact that serious questions have been raised by science- or health-oriented civil society organisations and also from leading scientists, including members of duly constituted decision-making committees, for instance on imposing lockdowns.

Elizabeth Holmes Verdict: Lying to Consumers is OK in the US but not to Investors

THE verdict on Elizabeth Holmes, the CEO of Theranos, who was tried for fraud, was guilty. Theranos was a company set up by Holmes and her former partner Ramesh "Sunny" Balwani and had promised to revolutionise testing. Their advanced biotech equipment—they claimed—would provide results for a whole battery of tests with just a few drops of blood.In its heyday, Theranos was worth $9 billion, and Elizabeth Holmes was looked upon as the Steve Jobs of the coming Silicon Valley's biotech revolution.

Spiralling Gas and Electricity Prices in Europe are Lessons for India

THE current crisis in Europe of spiralling gas prices, coupled with a cold snap, brings out that the transition of any part of the world to green energy is not going to be easy. It also brings out the complexity in such a transition, that energy is not simply choosing the right technology, but that it has economic and geopolitical dimensions as well.The European Union has made its problem of a green transition worse by choosing a completely market-based approach for gas pricing.

Covid-19: Runaway Omicron Wave Overtakes Delta

OMICRON, a new SARS-CoV-2 variant of concern, has rapidly overtaken all other variants in the new waves of Covid-19 cases that are emerging in South Africa, the UK, the European Union and the US. More worrying is that Omicron is able to infect those who have received two vaccine doses or already had Covid earlier. This is supported by laboratory evidence though they are still very preliminary results. The good news, if it can be called good news, is that most of those who have been vaccinated do not seem to progress to a critical stage.

Booster Shots and Omicron: Many Questions

THERE is much discussion these days on whether to introduce booster shots in India, both generally in response to the Covid pandemic and in the specific context of the Omicron variant of the virus. So far, recommendations for boosters by many experts are being made based on very thin evidence about effectiveness of boosters for protection against infection or transmission and, importantly, against serious disease, hospitalisation and death, which are the primary objectives of vaccination programmes.

Data Privacy Bill: Commercialising Our Data And Weakening Our Privacy

THE world is far more interconnected than ever before, with 60 per cent of the world’s population connecting to the internet. With wireless connectivity and cheap smartphones, the number of Indians connecting to the internet today is more than 70 per cent of the population. While most people may believe that they connect to the internet, in reality, they connect to either Google or Facebook and to each other via these digital monopolies.

Not Omicron but the Greed of Capital Threatens the World

OMICRON, a new SARS-CoV-2 strain, first detected in the Gauteng province of South Africa, has been acknowledged by WHO as a “variant of concern”. Already, cases have been reported from other countries, making clear that Omicron is unlikely to be contained geographically. If it outperforms Delta in creating new infections, it may then replace Delta as the dominant variant in Covid-19 infections, as Delta has done to the earlier variants.

Global Warming and the Hypocrisy of the Rich Countries

FIGHTING global warming is not just providing a path to net-zero carbon emissions for all countries. It is also about how to meet the energy needs of the people while doing so. If fossil fuels are to be given up as they need to be, countries in Africa and a significant part of Asia, including India, need an alternate path for providing electricity to its people. What is the course open to the poor countries if they do not use the fossil fuel route that the rich countries have used? And how much will such a route cost, and who will pay the bill?

COP26 Under-achieves, India Disorganised

COP26 came to a close on November 13, nearly 24 hours after originally scheduled. The final plenary got stuck at the final draft of the COP statement, now named Glasgow Climate Pact. For hours, viewers of the live telecast saw country after country making final remarks on the text, most expressing serious disappointments, but saying they would accept the statement in the spirit of compromise and so that they would not have to leave Glasgow empty-handed.

India and Glasgow COP26

WELL into the second week of COP26 in Glasgow, Scotland, the climate summit is shrouded in a dense fog of uncertainty, confusion and broken or empty promises, while activists both inside as observers and outside fume and fret in sheer frustration. As the days wind down to the conclusion this weekend, various multi-lateral agreements between voluntary sets of countries which are not binding at the level of the COP, are being pushed and signed.

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SCIENCE & DEVELOPMENT