Science Explorer Back to mapMap
Discussion
Topic · Physiology

Spaceflight effects on biology

Spaceflight effects on biology is a research topic within Physiology. Science Explorer counts 30k research works in it since 1950. 10.1% of them reached the world's top 10% most cited for their field and year.

This cluster of papers explores the physiological effects of space travel and microgravity on the human body, including topics such as bone loss, muscle atrophy, immune system dysregulation, cardiovascular function, cytoskeletal changes, and neurological effects. It also addresses the psychological challenges faced by astronauts during long-duration space missions.

  • Microgravity
  • Spaceflight
  • Physiological Adaptations
  • Bone Loss
  • Muscle Atrophy
  • Immune System
  • Cardiovascular Function
  • Cytoskeletal Changes
  • Neurological Effects
  • Psychological Challenges
Research works
30k
fractional, since 1950
In the world top 10%
3k
per year above
Top-10% rate
10.1%
share of its works in the world top 10%
Growth, 2018-21 → 2022-25
+14%
the tick is no change
Largest producer
United States
37% of the 10 largest, 2022-now
Spaceflight effects on biology

This ranks research output and citation impact. It says nothing about the quality of diagnosis, treatment or care.

Which countries lead Spaceflight effects on biology research?

By volume, the United States and China publish the most (1.2k and 579 works in 2022-now).

By volume, 2022-now

  1. 1 United States 1.2k works
  2. 2 China 579 works
  3. 3 Russia 313 works
  4. 4 United Kingdom 206 works
  5. 5 Italy 200 works
  6. 6 Germany 184 works
  7. 7 Japan 181 works
  8. 8 India 163 works
  9. 9 France 149 works
  10. 10 Canada 124 works

How concentrated that is

The same countries as shares of everything the list above accounts for. A node where two countries do two thirds of the work and one spread evenly across twelve read alike as a ranking and not at all alike here.

United States: 37.3%China: 17.3%Russia: 9.4%United Kingdom: 6.2%6 others listed: 29.9%37%largest
United States1,248 · 37.3%China579 · 17.3%Russia313 · 9.4%United Kingdom206 · 6.2%6 others listed1,001 · 29.9%

Shares of the rows listed above, not of the whole node.

Which institutions lead Spaceflight effects on biology research?

By volume in 2022-now, Russian Academy of Sciences publishes the most Spaceflight effects on biology research, followed by National Aeronautics and Space Administration and Chinese Academy of Sciences.

By volume, 2022-now

  1. 1 Russian Academy of SciencesRussia 134 works
  2. 2 National Aeronautics and Space AdministrationUnited States 76 works
  3. 3 Chinese Academy of SciencesChina 50 works
  4. 4 Centre National de la Recherche ScientifiqueFrance 37 works
  5. 5 Helmholtz Association of German Research CentresGermany 31 works
  6. 6 Harvard UniversityUnited States 30 works
  7. 7 University of North Carolina at Chapel HillUnited States 19 works
  8. 8 United States Department of DefenseUnited States 18 works
  9. 9 Beihang UniversityChina 17 works
  10. 10 University of Colorado BoulderUnited States 17 works

Who are the leading researchers in Spaceflight effects on biology?

The most-cited researchers publishing on Spaceflight effects on biology include Rob Knight, John P. A. Ioannidis and Matthias Mann.

  1. 1 Rob Knight United States 468k citations
  2. 2 John P. A. Ioannidis United States 317k citations
  3. 3 Matthias Mann Germany 308k citations
  4. 4 Róbert Langer United States 303k citations
  5. 5 Luigi Ferrucci United States 281k citations
  6. 6 George M. Whitesides United States 267k citations
  7. 7 Xiaogang Wang China 260k citations

Ranked by citations received across their whole record, among researchers with at least three works on this topic.

What are the most cited papers in Spaceflight effects on biology?

The most cited paper in Spaceflight effects on biology is "A simple technique for quantitation of low levels of DNA damage in individual cells" (Narendra Prasad Singh, Michael T. McCoy, Raymond R. Tice et al., 1988), with 10,851 citations. Next come "Oxidants, oxidative stress and the biology of ageing" (9,446) and "The structure of the nervous system of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans" (5,884).

Most cited papers
#PaperReleasedCitations
1 A simple technique for quantitation of low levels of DNA damage in individual cells Narendra Prasad Singh, Michael T. McCoy, Raymond R. Tice et al. · Experimental Cell Research Mar 1988 10,851
2 Oxidants, oxidative stress and the biology of ageing Toren Finkel, Nikki J. Holbrook · Nature Nov 2000 9,446
3 The structure of the nervous system of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans JG White, Eileen Southgate, J. Nichol Thomson et al. · Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences 12 Nov 1986 5,884
4 Kinetics and Kinematics for Translational Motions in Microgravity During Parabolic Flight Leia A. Stirling, Karen E. Willcox, Philip A. Ferguson et al. · Aviation Space and Environmental Medicine Jun 2009 5,266
5 Coordination of circadian timing in mammals Steven M. Reppert, David R. Weaver · Nature Aug 2002 4,422
All 99 most cited papers, with filters and sorting

Where is Spaceflight effects on biology research done?

The largest centres of Spaceflight effects on biology research in 2022-now are Moscow (Russia), Beijing (China), Houston (United States) and Tokyo (Japan). Among places with at least 20 works in it, it is an unusually large share of all research in Mountain View, Cologne and Boulder.

Largest cities, 2022-now

  1. 1 MoscowRussia 181 works
  2. 2 BeijingChina 171 works
  3. 3 HoustonUnited States 80 works
  4. 4 TokyoJapan 61 works
  5. 5 LondonUnited Kingdom 61 works
  6. 6 RomeItaly 53 works
  7. 7 ParisFrance 52 works
  8. 8 ShanghaiChina 41 works
  9. 9 Xi'anChina 39 works
  10. 10 CologneGermany 38 works

Where it is the local speciality

  1. Mountain ViewUS · 23.6 works10×
  2. CologneDE · 38.4 works8.0×
  3. BoulderUS · 23.3 works7.9×
  4. HoustonUS · 80.3 works7.5×
← less than its size predicts1×more →

Location quotient: how much more of its research is in Spaceflight effects on biology than the world average.

See Spaceflight effects on biology on the map

Where is the best place to study Spaceflight effects on biology?

Among universities, judged by research, Harvard University, University College London and Cornell University score highest, combining excellence, specialisation, size, growth and international reach. Research strength is one signal when choosing where to study; it does not measure teaching.

0%10%20%mean 16.93%fractional works in this field (log) →share of work in the world top 10% →Harvard UniversityUniversity College L…Cornell UniversityUniversity of Colora…
above the meannear itbelow it

One dot per university in the first ten of the table below, at the default weights. The upper left is the interesting corner: small places doing unusually strong work.

Excellenceshare of its work in the world top 10%, 2022-now and all time averaged
40%
Specialisationhow much of its work is in this field, counted up to 10× the world share
10%
Sizeits output in this field, on a log scale
30%
Growthoutput growth, counted from -20% to +20%
10%
Internationalshare of its work with a co-author abroad
10%
Each slider sets a weight; the share it gets of the score is beside it.
#UniversityScoreTop 10%SpecialisationWorksGrowth
1Harvard UniversityUnited States 86.322.0%2.4×30 +7.1%
2University College LondonUnited Kingdom 66.721.2%2.0×12 +62.5%
3Cornell UniversityUnited States 62.117.6%2.8×14 +41.3%
4University of Colorado BoulderUnited States 62.04.7%9.7×17 +13.0%
5University of FloridaUnited States 61.017.9%3.5×14 +21.4%
6University of California San DiegoUnited States 56.122.0%3.8×14 -33.1%
7Johns Hopkins UniversityUnited States 54.914.6%2.5×15 +23.4%
8Stanford UniversityUnited States 53.711.9%2.2×12 +27.2%
9Baylor College of MedicineUnited States 53.619.6%7.6×15 -17.3%
10Texas A&M UniversityUnited States 52.017.8%4.2×14 -8.8%

Universities only. The score blends excellence (40%), size (30%), specialisation (10%), growth (10%), international reach (10%), 2022-now; growth compares 2018-21 with 2022-25 and counts up to +20%, since a jump from a small base is mostly noise.

Every institution in Spaceflight effects on biology, country by country

Is Spaceflight effects on biology research growing?

Output in 2022-2025 was 14% higher than in 2018-2021, peaking in 2024. The fastest-growing topics are Spaceflight effects on biology.

still counting19801990200020102020
grewheldshrank

The same series as a ribbon: one cell per year, darker for more. The line above answers how much; this answers when.

Its share of all research

Growing output can still be a shrinking share: all of science grows. This is Spaceflight effects on biology as a percentage of every work published that year, 0.022% in 2024.

still counting0.020%0.040%0.060%Spaceflight effects on biology0.020% in 202519801990200020102020

Fractional works of Spaceflight effects on biology over all fractional works that year. How the balance of science has shifted.

How much of it reaches the world top 10%

Year by year.

still counting5%10%15%Spaceflight effects on biology10.1% in 2025200020102020

Of each year's works in it, the share that reached the world's 10% most cited for their field and year. A field is the world for its own topics, so there is no other line to hold it against.

Which topics inside it are moving

Growth and decline on one axis around a shared zero. Two lists side by side hide the thing that matters: whether the growth dwarfs the decline, or the other way round.

Discussion

Ask a question or share a note about Spaceflight effects on biology. Posts are plain text and can be reported.