Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Basil Greber @bjgreber.bsky.social · 9h

Interesting. I had not noticed the remnants of the other colours before you mentioned it.

2

Basil Greber @bjgreber.bsky.social · 15h

The Q-score in Table S1 is 0.33. This is very confusing. How can this happen?

2 3

Basil Greber @bjgreber.bsky.social · 15h

Where does the rather normal-looking FSC plot (the bottom one) in Supplementary Fig. S4 come from? That map is deposited, and it does not look like a map one would expect to produce that curve.

2 2

Reposted by Basil Greber

Tina Perica @glukozica.bsky.social · 20h

Skeetorial on our BRAF preprint!
tinyurl.com/asymmBRAF
The RAS->RAF->MEK->ERK cascade carries mutations in most human cancers. Interestingly, although we have three RAF paralogues (A, B and C), it is the BRAF that is predominantly mutated in cancer patients. (1/10)

Mechanism of MEK1 phosphorylation by the N-terminal acidic motif-mediated asymmetric BRAF dimer

The RAF/MEK/ERK signaling cascade regulates cell proliferation and differentiation and is frequently dysregulated in cancer. Approximately 90% of RAF-mutant cancers harbour mutations in B-type of Rapi...

tinyurl.com

1 7 14

Basil Greber @bjgreber.bsky.social · 22h

In structural biology, it means that someone’s result (a three-dimensional structure of a protein or other biological molecule) has no support whatsoever from the underlying data.

Reposted by Basil Greber

Joachim Frank @joachim123.bsky.social · 1d

My OpEd piece in US News & World Report, about not wanting my life to be book-ended by two fascist regimes and about the state of higher education in this country,

www.usnews.com/opinion/arti...

has now been republished in German translation by JOSHA:

josha-journal.org/en/categorie...

www.usnews.com

1 12 26

Reposted by Basil Greber

Wout Oosterheert @woutoosterheert.bsky.social · 1d

Very excited that my final postdoctoral work is now online in Cell @cellpress.bsky.social.

www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Using 16 (!) cryo-EM structures, we uncovered how the three proteins coronin, cofilin and AIP1 work together to rapidly disassemble actin filaments.

6 41 150

Basil Greber @bjgreber.bsky.social · 1d

The Q-score is zero. 🙈

Scott Fabricant MD PhD @safabric.bsky.social · 2d

In honour of spooky month, share a 4 word horror story that only someone in your profession would understand.

"Cefiderocol-resistant Pseudomonas osteomyelitis" 👻👻

Darren Irwin (he / him) @darrenirwin.bsky.social · 2d

In honour of spooky month, share a 4 word horror story that only someone in your profession would understand.

"Developed new species concept"

1 7

Basil Greber @bjgreber.bsky.social · 2d

💯

Reposted by Basil Greber

TJ McCorvie @allostericstate.bsky.social · 2d

Yikes! In this paper the AlphaFold model of human plasminogen (PDB-8uq6) has been refined into noise (EMD-42462) using Phenix & ISOLDE. For some reason the authors even interpret side-chain interactions:
#cryoEM

Image from the EMD entry EMD-42462 for human plasminogen bound to streptococcal surface enolase. Projections of the map are shown demonstrating no protein features and radial streaks due to overfitting.

EMD-424262 and PDB-8UQ6 opened in ChimeraX. Though the map is stated to be of Human Plasminogen bound to streptococcal surface enolase the authors have modelled only plasminogen in their PDB. The map shows radial streak at the surface indicative of overfitting and no clear density in the centre of the map corresponds to the model.

Figure 5 from the paper describing side chain interactions of human plasminogen from the PDB 8uq6.

Image showing the model to map FSC curve from Phenix which is the software used by the authors to real space refine their PDB into their cryo-EM map. The model to map FSC curve is a flat line showing no correlation exists between the cryo-EM map EMD-42462 and the PDB 8uq6.

8 11 38

Reposted by Basil Greber

Matt Novak @paleofuture.bsky.social · 3d

Or as the New York Times puts it: “Mr. Trump's budgetary maneuvering appeared unorthodox…”

Mr. Trump's budgetary maneuvering appeared unorthodox, even though it may spare more than 1 million active-duty service members from the financial hardship of missing a paycheck next week. It was not clear how much money the administration had at its disposal, and how long it could rely on accounting moves to pay troops during the shutdown.

21 200 920

Reposted by Basil Greber

Jonathan Howard @joho.bsky.social · 3d

These guys were content creators with regards to Covid.

They created this fantasy pandemic where they were super heroes stronger than the virus.

Everything *would have* been just fine.

But when given a chance to lead and prove themselves, it’s chaos every day at every level.

Jay Bhattacharya & @DrJBhattacharya
Follow
Imagine there hadn't been an @NIH-led
"devastating takedown" of the@gbdeclaration in Oct 2020. Imagine no media/social media suppression. We would have won the policy argument. Schools would have opened. We would have prioritized protection of the vulnerable. Instead, lockdowns.
1:44 AM • 12/9/22

6 10 77

Reposted by Basil Greber

Yamuna Krishnan @krishnanyamuna.bsky.social · 3d

Nobel Laureate Joachim Frank: "I will not be bookended by two fascist regimes." An impactful must-read. www.usnews.com/opinion/arti...

www.usnews.com

10 15

Reposted by Basil Greber

David Corn @davidcorn.bsky.social · 3d

A classic case of irresponsible both-sidesism from the NYT. The story is that Trump and MAGA propagandists are lying about Portland to incite a conflict, not that there are different views of the matter.

270 1.5K 5.7K

Reposted by Basil Greber

Oli Clarke @olibclarke.bsky.social · 3d

possibly stupid question - does anyone in #teamtomo or #cryoem recognize these little stacks (from EMPIAR-12549, U2OS cell lamellae)? The green circle is 300Å, and the spacing between the layers is ~50Å. The fourth, bell-shaped thing is something else, also not sure of that one..

4 8 14

Reposted by Basil Greber

Anne Carpenter @drannecarpenter.bsky.social · 4d

15 years in the making, we confirmed that mitochondria - the powerhouse of the cell - have an unusual localization in patients who experience psychosis (including schizophrenia and bipolar disorders). You’ll never guess what kind of patient cells we used to make this discovery… 🧵

mitochondria from bipolar patients are closer to the nucleus in these images; control patients' are spread out further

25 150 410

Reposted by Basil Greber

Kyle Griffin @kylegriffin1.bsky.social · 4d

Breaking: MIT just became the first university to reject an agreement that would trade support for the Trump admin's higher education agenda in exchange for favorable treatment.

"Fundamentally, the premise of the document is inconsistent with our core belief." www.nytimes.com/2025/10/10/u...

M.I.T. Rejects a White House Offer for Special Funding Treatment

www.nytimes.com

95 810 3.4K

Reposted by Basil Greber

Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · 4d

RIFs can’t be done without agency leadership so this is RFK Jr extending his purge of CDC scientists to help Vought’s shutdown agenda. Genuine public health risks created by aggrieved men.

Sheryl Gay Stolberg @sherylnyt.bsky.social · 4d

BREAKING: Friday night massacre underway at CDC. Doznes of "disease detectives," high-level scientists, entire Washington staff and editors of the MMWR (Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report) have all been RIFed and received the following notice:

38 790 2.2K

Basil Greber @bjgreber.bsky.social · 4d

👀

Anne Carpenter @drannecarpenter.bsky.social · 4d

15 years in the making, we confirmed that mitochondria - the powerhouse of the cell - have an unusual localization in patients who experience psychosis (including schizophrenia and bipolar disorders). You’ll never guess what kind of patient cells we used to make this discovery… 🧵

1

Reposted by Basil Greber

The Guardian @theguardian.com · 4d

Nobel peace prize 2025 live: María Corina Machado wins for work promoting democratic rights in Venezuela

US president had been conducting campaign to influence prize committee

www.theguardian.com

48 200 720

Reposted by Basil Greber

James Medlock @jdcmedlock.bsky.social · 5d

“I’ll declare war on you if you don’t give me the peace prize” is an incredible bit

420 3.2K 15K

Reposted by Basil Greber

Jason McLellan @mclellanlab.bsky.social · 6d

I'm honored to receive a MacArthur Fellowship. As always, I extend my sincerest thanks to all my wonderful mentors, colleagues, collaborators, admins, and trainees who make this work possible. #MacFellow

Texas Science @texasscience.bsky.social · 6d

UT Austin has a new “genius grant” recipient!

Texas Science professor Jason McLellan has been awarded a MacArthur Fellowship — aka the “genius grant” — by The MacArthur Foundation.

#TexasScience @mclellanlab.bsky.social #MacArthurGenius @utaustin.bsky.social
cns.utexas.edu/news/accolad...

Virus Slayer Awarded ‘Genius Grant’ by MacArthur Foundation

The award recognizes Jason McLellan’s work to investigate how viruses infect our cells and to develop new treatments for infectious disease.

cns.utexas.edu

32 33 220

Reposted by Basil Greber

Anna Bower @annabower.bsky.social · 6d

You’ve gotta be kidding me.

This WaPo editorial presents a misleading revisionist history of Special Counsel Jack Smith’s criminal cases against Trump.

Then it has the gall to compare that to Trump’s overt targeting of his perceived enemies.

Really embarrassing stuff.

But the mere fact that a legal tool might be available does not mean it should be used. The
current rage over Grassley's revelation shows why. Smith showed little restraint in his pursuit of a former president. He charged Trump for official acts he took as president. He sought a gag order to limit Trump's ability to criticize the prosecution. He tried to accelerate the case to try a leading presidential candidate before the 2024 election.

180 1.1K 4K

Reposted by Basil Greber

Doudna Lab @doudna-lab.bsky.social · 6d

Congratulations to my colleagues Omar Yaghi and John Clarke — the two latest UC Berkeley Nobel Laureates! Omar’s development of metal-organic frameworks changed the way we capture carbon, store energy, and harvest water from desert air. shorturl.at/GpBsu 1/2

UC Berkeley’s Omar Yaghi shares 2025 Nobel Prize in Chemistry - Berkeley News

Yaghi created a field called reticular chemistry, which involves stitching together molecular building blocks to form porous structures — metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) — with myriad applications.

shorturl.at

1 2 15

Reposted by Basil Greber

Briggs Group @briggsgroup.bsky.social · 8d

The mechanistic basis of cargo selection during Golgi maturation. From Rebecca Taylor, @katciazynska.bsky.social, @jggkaufman.bsky.social & @grigorytagiltsev.bsky.social at @mpibiochem.bsky.social with David Owen and Sean Munro's group @cellbiol-mrclmb.bsky.social | www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

The mechanistic basis of cargo selection during Golgi maturation

Resident proteins of the Golgi recycle in vesicles and the protein GOLPH3 enables the COPI vesicle coat to accomplish this.

www.science.org

22 53