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Heidi M McBride

@mitodynamics.bsky.social

Hopeless mitochondriak. Professor at McGill Neuro_MNI. Opinions my own.

11 Posts1632 Follower 201 Folgt

André Picard @picardonhealth @picardonhealth.bsky.social · 9mo ago

Canada’s research and scientific spending is declining relative to other nations, Council of Canadian Academies report says, by @ivansemeniuk.bsky.social www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/scien... via @theglobeandmail.com

Canada’s research and scientific spending is declining relative to other nations, report says

Low rate of R&D investment plays key role in productivity crisis, according to Council of Canadian Academies

theglobeandmail.com

Aligning Science Across Parkinson's @asapresearch.parkinsonsroadmap.org · 9mo ago

New CRN Team Desjardins #preprint and #publication! ⬅️ LRRK2(G2019S) disrupts iron balance in macrophages, blocking ferritinophagy under iron overload bit.ly/47VzxvC ➡️ LRRK2(G2019S) mutant mice show stronger gut inflammation post-infection, linking gut immune changes to early PD bit.ly/3LVKlCk

LRRK2G2019S RAW macrophages show changes in iron homeostasis.

Single cell RNA sequencing (scRNAseq) and flow cytometry show increased neutrophil presence in colonic lamina propria of LRRK2 G2019S mice following infection.

Mark A. Hanson @hansonmark.bsky.social · 9mo ago

We wrote the Strain on scientific publishing to highlight the problems of time & trust. With a fantastic group of co-authors, we present The Drain of Scientific Publishing: a 🧵 1/n Drain: arxiv.org/abs/2511.04820 Strain: direct.mit.edu/qss/article/... Oligopoly: direct.mit.edu/qss/article/...

A table showing profit margins of major publishers. A snippet of text related to this table is below.

1. The four-fold drain
1.1 Money
Currently, academic publishing is dominated by profit-oriented, multinational companies for
whom scientific knowledge is a commodity to be sold back to the academic community who
created it. The dominant four are Elsevier, Springer Nature, Wiley and Taylor & Francis,
which collectively generated over US$7.1 billion in revenue from journal publishing in 2024
alone, and over US$12 billion in profits between 2019 and 2024 (Table 1A). Their profit
margins have always been over 30% in the last five years, and for the largest publisher
(Elsevier) always over 37%.
Against many comparators, across many sectors, scientific publishing is one of the most
consistently profitable industries (Table S1). These financial arrangements make a substantial
difference to science budgets. In 2024, 46% of Elsevier revenues and 53% of Taylor &
Francis revenues were generated in North America, meaning that North American
researchers were charged over US$2.27 billion by just two for-profit publishers. The
Canadian research councils and the US National Science Foundation were allocated US$9.3
billion in that year.

A figure detailing the drain on researcher time.

1. The four-fold drain

1.2 Time
The number of papers published each year is growing faster than the scientific workforce,
with the number of papers per researcher almost doubling between 1996 and 2022 (Figure
1A). This reflects the fact that publishers’ commercial desire to publish (sell) more material
has aligned well with the competitive prestige culture in which publications help secure jobs,
grants, promotions, and awards. To the extent that this growth is driven by a pressure for
profit, rather than scholarly imperatives, it distorts the way researchers spend their time.
The publishing system depends on unpaid reviewer labour, estimated to be over 130 million
unpaid hours annually in 2020 alone (9). Researchers have complained about the demands of
peer-review for decades, but the scale of the problem is now worse, with editors reporting
widespread difficulties recruiting reviewers. The growth in publications involves not only the
authors’ time, but that of academic editors and reviewers who are dealing with so many
review demands.
Even more seriously, the imperative to produce ever more articles reshapes the nature of
scientific inquiry. Evidence across multiple fields shows that more papers result in
‘ossification’, not new ideas (10). It may seem paradoxical that more papers can slow
progress until one considers how it affects researchers’ time. While rewards remain tied to
volume, prestige, and impact of publications, researchers will be nudged away from riskier,
local, interdisciplinary, and long-term work. The result is a treadmill of constant activity with
limited progress whereas core scholarly practices – such as reading, reflecting and engaging
with others’ contributions – is de-prioritized. What looks like productivity often masks
intellectual exhaustion built on a demoralizing, narrowing scientific vision.

A table of profit margins across industries. The section of text related to this table is below:

1. The four-fold drain
1.1 Money
Currently, academic publishing is dominated by profit-oriented, multinational companies for
whom scientific knowledge is a commodity to be sold back to the academic community who
created it. The dominant four are Elsevier, Springer Nature, Wiley and Taylor & Francis,
which collectively generated over US$7.1 billion in revenue from journal publishing in 2024
alone, and over US$12 billion in profits between 2019 and 2024 (Table 1A). Their profit
margins have always been over 30% in the last five years, and for the largest publisher
(Elsevier) always over 37%.
Against many comparators, across many sectors, scientific publishing is one of the most
consistently profitable industries (Table S1). These financial arrangements make a substantial
difference to science budgets. In 2024, 46% of Elsevier revenues and 53% of Taylor &
Francis revenues were generated in North America, meaning that North American
researchers were charged over US$2.27 billion by just two for-profit publishers. The
Canadian research councils and the US National Science Foundation were allocated US$9.3
billion in that year.

The costs of inaction are plain: wasted public funds, lost researcher time, compromised
scientific integrity and eroded public trust. Today, the system rewards commercial publishers
first, and science second. Without bold action from the funders we risk continuing to pour
resources into a system that prioritizes profit over the advancement of scientific knowledge.

Hana Antonicka @hantonicka.bsky.social · 9mo ago

Montreal #mitochondria lovers! Come and join us at the next MitoClub!

The Science of Parkinson's @scienceofpd.bsky.social · 10mo ago

CRISPR screen by @mitodynamics.bsky.social & colleagues identifies Mitochondrial anchored protein ligase (MAPL) as a regulator of gasdermin-mediated release of mtDNA from lysosomes, driving pyroptotic cell death; Depletion of MAPL, LRRK2 or VPS35 blocks cell death www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Waggoner Lab @labwaggoner.bsky.social · 10mo ago

Mitochondrial anchored protein ligase (MAPL) induces pyroptosis through an inflammatory pathway involving mitochondria and lysosomes @natcellbio.nature.com @mitodynamics.bsky.social @mitocollier.bsky.social @mcgilluniversity.bsky.social www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Heidi M McBride @mitodynamics.bsky.social · 10mo ago

New paper - MAPL strikes again! Interested in mitochondrial signalling, inflammation, lysosome biology, pyroptosis, and Parkinson's disease? Have a look, there's something for everyone! Feeling grateful! @mitocollier.bsky.social Funded by #CIHR, @asapresearch.parkinsonsroadmap.org. rdcu.be/eKKz1 🇨🇦

Journal of Cell Science @jcellsci.bsky.social · last yr.

Also in this Issue: - Editorial from Ana Garcia-Saez & @mitodynamics.bsky.social - Interviews with Tom MacVicar, Samantha Lewis & Heidi McBride - Mitochondria–membrane contacts poster - Quality control of un-imported mitochondrial proteins poster - Mitochondrial cholesterol transport Perspective

JCS poster ‘Mitochondria–membranous organelle contacts at a glance’
Antigoni Diokmetzidou, Luca Scorrano

Heidi M McBride @mitodynamics.bsky.social · last yr.

Thank you to everyone who submitted and reviewed! And to Seema and the editors for making it a seamless experience. Keep sending your work to JCS - it’s a fantastic journal and a science family that cares.

Seema Grewal@seemagrewal.bsky.social · last yr.

Great to see this issue out! Huge thanks to our Guest Editors, Ana Garcia-Saez and Heidi McBride (@mitodynamics.bsky.social), for coordinating it! #mitochondria

Heidi M McBride @mitodynamics.bsky.social · last yr.

youtube.com/watch?v=V11q... The election in Canada is so important. Please give this thoughtful interview a listen before you vote. Canada can provide leadership and vision through this tumultuous period if we put Carney the helm.

Canada’s Role in a Shifting Global Order — with Mark Carney | Prof G Conversations

YouTube video by The Prof G Pod – Scott Galloway

youtube.com

Heidi M McBride @mitodynamics.bsky.social · last yr.

So happy to see the swell of science activism today! Never forget the power you have. US innovation is second to none - use it now! We may boo your dear leader but we’ve got your back!

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Heidi M McBride @mitodynamics.bsky.social · 2y ago

In Melbourne for Aussiemit2024! Grateful for the invitation and excited to catch up with the awesome Aussie science.

PeteyMcP @peter-mcpherson.bsky.social · 2y ago

www.mcgill.ca/neuro/channe... My laboratory discovered a mechanism to make Lewy Bodies in dopaminergic neurons. Lewy Bodies are a hallmark of Parkinson's disease. The key? Immune challenge, demonstrating a role for the immune system in Parkinson's

Recreating a hallmark of Parkinson's disease in human neurons

Scientists use stem cells to follow development of protein bodies characteristic of neurological disease Lewy bodies are a hallmark of Parkinson's disease (PD) and other related neurological condition...

mcgill.ca

Christian Frezza @frezzalab.bsky.social · 2y ago

People working on #cancermetabolism, #mitochondrialbiology, #metabolism, please reach out! Share this so I can follow who is here! I will share paper on cancer metabolism, but anything else related to mitochondria and metabolism.

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Heidi M McBride @mitodynamics.bsky.social · 2y ago

Hello! Just migrating over in search of some good science, cell biology, mitochondria, and all things new and exciting.