Basil Greber
@bjgreber.bsky.social
2.5K followers 490 following 1K posts
Structural biologist. High-resolution imaging of macromolecular assemblies (and landscapes). MRC career development fellow/group leader at the Institute of Cancer Research, London. Views my own.
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Reposted by Basil Greber
woutoosterheert.bsky.social
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.
bjgreber.bsky.social
The Q-score is zero. 🙈
safabric.bsky.social
In honour of spooky month, share a 4 word horror story that only someone in your profession would understand.

"Cefiderocol-resistant Pseudomonas osteomyelitis" 👻👻
darrenirwin.bsky.social
In honour of spooky month, share a 4 word horror story that only someone in your profession would understand.

"Developed new species concept"
Reposted by Basil Greber
allostericstate.bsky.social
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.
Reposted by Basil Greber
paleofuture.bsky.social
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.
Reposted by Basil Greber
joho.bsky.social
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
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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
Reposted by Basil Greber
krishnanyamuna.bsky.social
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
Reposted by Basil Greber
davidcorn.bsky.social
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.
Reposted by Basil Greber
olibclarke.bsky.social
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..
Reposted by Basil Greber
drannecarpenter.bsky.social
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
Reposted by Basil Greber
kylegriffin1.bsky.social
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
Reposted by Basil Greber
donmoyn.bsky.social
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.
sherylnyt.bsky.social
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:
bjgreber.bsky.social
👀
drannecarpenter.bsky.social
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
Reposted by Basil Greber
jdcmedlock.bsky.social
“I’ll declare war on you if you don’t give me the peace prize” is an incredible bit
Reposted by Basil Greber
mclellanlab.bsky.social
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
texasscience.bsky.social
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
Reposted by Basil Greber
annabower.bsky.social
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.
Reposted by Basil Greber
doudna-lab.bsky.social
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
Reposted by Basil Greber
Reposted by Basil Greber
michaelemann.bsky.social
“The Party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command.”

― George Orwell, 1984
atrupar.com
Mike Johnson: "Let me look right into the camera and tell you very clearly: Republicans are the ones concerned about healthcare. Republicans are the party working around the clock everyday to fix healthcare. This is not talking points for us: we've done it."
Reposted by Basil Greber
ki.se
The 2025 #NobelPrize in Physiology or Medicine has been awarded to Mary E. Brunkow, Fred Ramsdell and Shimon Sakaguchi for their groundbreaking discoveries concerning peripheral immune tolerance that prevents the immune system from harming the body 🧪 www.nobelprize.org/prizes/medic...
Photo: Cecilia Odlind
Reposted by Basil Greber
harmitmalik.bsky.social
I am leaving Rochester NY after attending the retirement fest of four giants in the field of evolutionary biology including my PhD advisor. This visit gave me a chance to revisit old haunts and reflect on my own somewhat unlikely origin story. 1/n
Reposted by Basil Greber
drruth.bsky.social
The HPV vaccine is doing what had been promised.
17 years after it became available, HPV infections decreased significantly in vaccinated people and unvaccinated people because of herd immunity. buff.ly/WvjQ1BS

h/t @boghuma.bsky.social

#medsky #pedsky 🛟🧪
Light blue background. Young woman with dark hair makes a sign of strength with her arm and she has a vaccine bandaid on her upper arm. It says "The HPV Vaccine Works!"