Michael Greenwood

Feature Writer

B.Sc. Chemistry, M.Sc. Drug Design and Discovery

Michael graduated from the University of Salford with a PhD in Biochemistry in 2023, and has keen research interests towards nanotechnology and its application to biological systems. Michael has written on a wide range of science communication and news topics within the life sciences and related fields since 2019, and engages extensively with current developments in journal publications.

Articles from Michael

Teachers and school staff should be prioritised for COVID vaccines

In a communication paper recently published in the Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health by Koirala et al. (June 8th, 2021), it is argued that Australian schools should remain open, with proper testing, tracing, and quarantine protocols in place.

13 Jun 2021

Humoral innate pattern recognition molecules against SARS-CoV-2

In a paper recently uploaded to the preprint server medRxiv by Garlanda et al. (June 8th, 2021), humoral pattern recognition molecules are explored for affinity towards SARS-CoV-2, contributing to unraveling the role of these molecules in COVID-19 disease progression.

13 Jun 2021

Long-range airborne transmission of SARS-CoV-2

In an early release copy of a short commentary paper recently published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal by Addleman et al. (June 8th, 2021), the impact of, and possible solutions to, the short- and long-range airborne transmission of SARS-CoV-2 are explored.

13 Jun 2021

The longevity of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies and their cross-neutralization against variants of concern

In a new study by researchers in the UK, the activity of neutralizing antibodies collected from the sera of individuals that contracted COVID-19 during the first wave of the pandemic is tested against variants of concern the B.1.1.7 (or UK) variant and the B.1.351 (or South African) variant, demonstrating somewhat reduced potency of neutralization towards these strains.

10 Jun 2021

Cyperus rotundus medicinal plant shows promise for novel COVID-19 therapeutics

Cyperus rotundus is a plant with a history as herbal medicine, containing many chemical substances frequently found to be drug-like in character: flavonoids, terpenoids, and the like. Compounds sourced from the plant have demonstrated some inhibitory activity against HIV by modulation of the CYP3A4 enzyme, and thus in a drug lead discovery effort, Kumar et al. (July 2021) computationally screened these natural compounds against MPRO in a paper recently published to Computers in Biology and Medicine.

9 Jun 2021

Potent antibody responses to BNT162b2 COVID-19 vaccine among Japanese healthcare workers

In a paper recently uploaded to the preprint server medRxiv* by Nakajima et al. (June 4th, 2021), the antibody responses of over 2,000 Japanese healthcare workers were tracked over a period of several months, with particular regard to serum Immunoglobulin G (IgG) against the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein.

8 Jun 2021

The genetic diversity of SARS-CoV-2 in the USA

In a research paper recently uploaded to the preprint server medRxiv by Capoferri et al. (June 4th, 2021), the genetic diversity of SARS-CoV-2 through each phase is examined in detail using publicly available genomic data available from before 2021, highlighting the need to continuously track and assess the evolution of the virus to ensure the future efficacy of the currently available vaccines.

7 Jun 2021

Comparison of immunological profiles of SARS-CoV-2 variants

Mutations to the spike protein and receptor-binding domain are responsible for these changes in immunogenic profile, and in a paper recently uploaded to the open access journal Antibiotics by Ambrose et al. (May 6th, 2021) these mutations are correlated with various disease parameters by in silico methods, finding that particular features are responsible for the increased infectiousness and lesser disease severity observed in these lineages.

6 Jun 2021

COVID-19 symptoms in the feet

In a review paper recently uploaded to the Journal of Clinical Medicine by Jimenez-Cebrian et al. (May 19th, 2021), the clinical manifestations of COVID-19 in feet, in particular, are reviewed, finding that vascular, dermatological, and neurological symptoms have been widely reported.

6 Jun 2021

SARS-CoV-2 evades neutralizing antibodies and rapidly spreads by cell fusion, finds study

In a new study by researchers in the UK, Germany and South Africa, this process is visualized using time-lapse microscopy of a human cell lung line, demonstrating that SARS-CoV-2 can induce cell-to-cell fusion within 6 hours post-infection. Further, the application of neutralizing monoclonal antibodies or convalescent plasma was unable to prevent the spread of the virus by this mechanism, suggesting that removing SARS-CoV-2 from cells permissive of cell membrane fusion could be more difficult than other types of cell.

4 Jun 2021