Brandon Greene
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keepitgreene.bsky.social
Brandon Greene
@keepitgreene.bsky.social
Biophysical chemist, redox biology, professor at UCSB, dad, husband, and part-time adventurer
Reposted by Brandon Greene
Agency scientists speak out about the irreplaceable facilities, institutional knowledge and training opportunities that the USA is losing

go.nature.com/49CE3Bt
Dismantling of US federal agencies will ‘destroy science’
Nature - From NASA to the National Institutes of Health, federal agencies conduct research that universities cannot. Agency scientists speak out about the irreplaceable facilities, institutional...
go.nature.com
November 9, 2025 at 5:28 PM
Can confirm. A sad state, but we would be doing a disservice to admit people we can't pay for. Want more R&D in the US? Pay for it. The ROI is incredible...
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
US PhD admissions shrink as fears over Trump’s cuts take hold
Some doctoral programmes are admitting no students at all amid uncertainty about federal science funding.
www.nature.com
November 7, 2025 at 6:18 PM
Reposted by Brandon Greene
Buried in the article:
“Over a period of six months, researchers estimate that COVID-19 infections led to 2.24 extra cases of myocarditis or pericarditis per 100,000 children, while vaccinations led to 0.85 extra cases per 100,000.”

The scare tactic of the headline is what’s wrong with media today
Study compares heart risks of COVID-19 infection and vaccination, and the results may surprise you
The risk of children developing rare but serious heart complications is higher after a COVID-19 infection than after vaccination, according to a new study.
www.ctvnews.ca
November 6, 2025 at 12:22 PM
One of my favorite experiments with GREs, H/D exchange! Direct evidence of a solvent-exchangable residue in radical transfer chemistry, but also non-enantioselective radical transfer. In PFL, we estimate it to be one-in-ten thousand. Congrats Mary and co! pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/...
Accessory Subunit Regulates Thiyl Radical Formation in Benzylsuccinate Synthase
X-succinate synthases (XSSs) are a class of glycyl radical enzymes (GREs) that enable anaerobic hydrocarbon functionalization, granting anaerobes access to petroleum-derived substrates for metabolism. Owing to their ability to functionalize components of crude oil and catalyze selective olefin hydroalkylation, XSSs hold significant biotechnological promise. However, mechanistic understanding has been limited due to long-standing barriers to installing their essential glycyl radical in vitro, which have only recently been overcome. Unlike most GREs, XSSs contain accessory subunits that bind to the periphery of the catalytic subunit. The most well-studied XSS, benzylsuccinate synthase (BSS), includes two [4Fe–4S] cluster-binding accessory subunits, BSSγ and BSSβ. The full structure of BSSγ and the catalytic role of BSSβ have remained unclear. Here, we report the crystal structure of BSSγ with its [4Fe–4S] cluster intact, revealing a HiPP-like fold similar to that of BSSβ. Through biochemical and spectroscopic studies, we provide evidence that BSSβ promotes thiyl radical formation, even in the absence of a substrate. This finding contrasts with recent models, in which substrate binding is required to trigger thiyl radical formation. With this mechanistic insight, we optimized reaction conditions to achieve total turnover numbers of ∼17,000, representing an over 340-fold improvement compared to prior reports. We further show that in the absence of BSSβ, activated BSSαγ remains catalytically active for up to 11 days. Together, these results clarify the unique regulatory architecture of BSS and lay the groundwork for the use of XSSs in biocatalytic applications.
pubs.acs.org
November 4, 2025 at 2:44 PM
Closing out the night strong. Happy Halloween everyone!
November 1, 2025 at 4:59 AM
Had a great time giving a seminar at the exotic and far flung location of @ucsb.bsky.social department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. Trying to represent the latter! Was really fun to see all the colleagues and students.
October 31, 2025 at 4:38 AM
Departmental vote is in and I was recommended for tenure! Still gotta go through the bureaucracy but feels great to have the support of my colleagues. Looking forward to more exciting science in the years ahead without the sword of Damocles overhead.
October 26, 2025 at 4:35 PM
This shit is so predictable, and yet, I am still so sad for this country…
Breaking: The Department of Justice announced it will "monitor polling sites in six jurisdictions [in New Jersey and California] ahead of the upcoming November 4, 2025, general election to ensure transparency, ballot security, and compliance with federal law." www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justi...
Justice Department to Monitor Polling Sites in California, New Jersey
WASHINGTON – Today, the Department of Justice announced that it will monitor polling sites in six jurisdictions ahead of the upcoming November 4, 2025, general election to ensure transparency, ballot ...
www.justice.gov
October 24, 2025 at 7:23 PM
This absolutely is the issue. D vs. R, priv. vs. pub., rural vs. urban, STEM vs. humanities. We are all academics. Period. Hang together or hang alone.
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Higher education fails at collective action
In the latest development in the ongoing combat between universities in the United States and the Trump administration, the Department of Education has presented them with what it calls a “compact.” I...
www.science.org
October 24, 2025 at 6:25 PM
#nokings in Santa Barbara did not disappoint! Guessing 2-3K people out in peaceful protest. Warmed the heart, we are not alone.
October 18, 2025 at 9:37 PM
Reposted by Brandon Greene
Ronald Reagan said it. #NoKings tomorrow 10/18
October 17, 2025 at 6:44 PM
The vvitch is the best Halloween movie. Up there in movies in general. Change my mind…
October 18, 2025 at 4:32 AM
Banger of an issue of @pnas.org , but this one caught my eye (you can probably guess why). Differential 13C isotope fractionation in fermentation excretions vs. anabolic assimilation.
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
PNAS
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), a peer reviewed journal of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) - an authoritative source of high-impact, original research that broadly spans...
www.pnas.org
October 14, 2025 at 8:22 PM
Reposted by Brandon Greene
Today’s mandatory faculty mental health slideshow, “Going Through the Motions: How to Function Despite the Fact Your Supervisors Hate You and Your Job Is Destroying You Spiritually,” has been postponed again.
The Faculty Mental Health Fair Has Been Postponed Again
Dear Faculty: Due to concerns expressed by the students, parents, and staff, you are invited to attend a mandatory emergency mental health fair in ...
buff.ly
October 9, 2025 at 1:31 PM
It takes 60 votes to get anything through the senate, but only 50 to rescind any funds. Given this republican senate, why would dems assume any deal would be honored. Also, why is there a filibuster?
October 8, 2025 at 5:21 PM
With @nobelprize.bsky.social in physics and chemistry in the books, would be a great time to see that national roll-out of an advertising blitz on the value of science and public universities in America @ucpress.bsky.social maybe in targeted congressional districts?
October 8, 2025 at 2:11 PM
This is the way.
Hirono: "I have to conclude that, since no wrongdoing was determined, that Homan kept the money. And I hope he will put that on his tax returns as income."
October 8, 2025 at 12:29 AM
@ucsb.bsky.social represent! Congrats to John and the other @nobelprize.bsky.social in physics winners! Good reminder on how America used to attract the best and brightest from abroad.

www.nytimes.com/2025/10/07/s...
Nobel Prize in Physics Is Awarded for Work in Quantum Mechanics
www.nytimes.com
October 7, 2025 at 2:28 PM
Reposted by Brandon Greene
COUNTDOWN: 13 days to No Kings 2.

Today's Call to Action: Plan to BE there. And BRING FRIENDS. This is going to be big, and no one you know will want to miss it.

Our No Kings 2 action is Saturday October 18 at noon at Alameda Park, 1400 Santa Barbara Road. #NoKings #Indivisible
October 5, 2025 at 5:33 PM
Reposted by Brandon Greene
This moment from our latest episode with science writer @edyong209.bsky.social is 🔥

We asked Ed — how do we talk up the benefits of science in the face of government cuts? He told us that's the wrong approach. 🧪

Listen wherever, or watch on Spotify 👇

open.spotify.com/episode/7Evh...
October 1, 2025 at 2:56 PM
Reposted by Brandon Greene
The 2026 Chemistry Faculty Jobs List has 186 tenure-track positions and 21 teaching-only positions: docs.google.com/spreadsheets... #facultychemjobs #chemsky ⚗️🧪
The 2026 Chemistry Faculty Jobs List
docs.google.com
September 30, 2025 at 6:20 PM
Reposted by Brandon Greene
Phang: So, as we can see you have a DHS official—you clearly hear him say on that body cam footage, “I am arresting the mayor. Even though he stepped out, I’m going to put him in cuffs.”

Who told him to do it? He says: the Deputy Attorney General… And who’s that? Todd Blanche.
September 30, 2025 at 10:47 PM
Fuck. NSF changed their GFRP eligibility to only students who have not completed their first year. No notice, no grace period. Just typical of this administration and NSF leadership. Our students HAVEN'T EVEN JOINED A GROUP YET!
September 26, 2025 at 5:37 PM