Physician‑scientists are a small and shrinking part of the medical workforce. The post calls for better career support and more stable funding to retain them. Data show declines in their numbers across the US, UK, Japan and South Korea, and highlight issues such as algorithmic post allocation, lack of protected research time, low pay and funding cuts.
Key points
US physician‑scientists fell from ~5% of the workforce in the 1980s to ~1.5% today.
In the UK, senior academic doctors dropped from ~5% in 2009 to ~3% in 2025, and those under 36 fell 25% between 2024‑2025.
Sources
- Original post
- Keep medical doctors in academia - Linked page
APOE2 reduces APOE4‑linked amyloid pathology in heterozygous mice
Chen and colleagues used heterozygous mice carrying human APOE2 and APOE4 alleles. They found that APOE2 lessens APOE4‑associated amyloid deposition and related cellular changes. The study also reports proteomic and lipidomic differences among APOE genotypes.
Key points
APOE3/4 mice show increased Aβ deposition, maladaptive microglial activation, and reduced microglial‑plaque interactions.
APOE2/4 mice display attenuated pathology and a brain proteomic profile more similar to APOE3/3 and APOE2/3 mice.
Sources
Eurodoc report on PhD income across Europe
Eurodoc published a report on first‑year doctoral earnings in 2024‑25 for 26 European countries. The analysis shows large disparities between nations. Estonia recently raised its doctoral stipend from about €8,000 to a guaranteed salary roughly 2.5 × higher.
Key points
Report covers first‑year doctoral candidates in 2024–25 across 26 countries.
Estonia replaced an €8,000 annual stipend with a salary about 2.5 times that amount.
Sources
Lettuce and tobacco engineered to produce myoglobin
Researchers engineered lettuce and tobacco chloroplasts to produce myoglobin, a meat‑like protein. The work was published in Frontiers in Plant Science. Lead author Alexia Groff reported that chloroplast genome insertion yields higher protein levels than nuclear insertion.
Key points
Method: genes added to the chloroplast genome of lettuce and tobacco.
Publication: study appears in Frontiers in Plant Science.
Lead author: Alexia Groff, Ph.D. student at Imperial College London.
Sources
- Original post
- Lettuce engineered to produce meat proteins - Linked page