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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. 11.3% 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%
3.4k
per year above
Top-10% rate
11.3%
share of its works in the world top 10%
Growth, 2013–17 → 2018–22
+9%
the tick is no change

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 (1.1k and 518 works in 2022–2025).

By volume, 2022–2025

  1. 1 United States 1.1k works
  2. 2 China 518 works
  3. 3 Russia 301 works
  4. 4 United Kingdom 185 works
  5. 5 Italy 180 works
  6. 6 Germany 172 works
  7. 7 Japan 168 works
  8. 8 India 147 works
  9. 9 France 134 works
  10. 10 Canada 112 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: 36.7%China: 17.1%Russia: 9.9%United Kingdom: 6.1%6 others listed: 30.1%37%largest
United States1,114 · 36.7%China518 · 17.1%Russia301 · 9.9%United Kingdom185 · 6.1%6 others listed914 · 30.1%

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

Which institutions lead Spaceflight effects on biology research?

By volume in 2022–2025, Institute of Biomedical Problems publishes the most Spaceflight effects on biology research, followed by Johnson Space Center and Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt e. V. (DLR).

By volume, 2022–2025

  1. 1 Institute of Biomedical ProblemsRussia 71 works
  2. 2 Johnson Space CenterUnited States 25 works
  3. 3 Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt e. V. (DLR)Germany 24 works
  4. 4 Ames Research CenterUnited States 18 works
  5. 5 Beihang UniversityChina 16 works
  6. 6 Chinese Academy of SciencesChina 16 works
  7. 7 University of North Carolina at Chapel HillUnited States 16 works
  8. 8 University of Colorado BoulderUnited States 14 works
  9. 9 Baylor College of MedicineUnited States 13 works
  10. 10 Harvard UniversityUnited States 13 works

Where is Spaceflight effects on biology research done?

The largest centres of Spaceflight effects on biology research in 2022–2025 are Moscow (Russia), Beijing (China), Houston (United States) and London (United Kingdom). Among places with at least 20 works in it, it is an unusually large share of all research in Mountain View, Boulder and Cologne.

Largest cities, 2022–2025

  1. 1 Moscow Russia 173 works
  2. 2 Beijing China 157 works
  3. 3 Houston United States 72 works
  4. 4 London United Kingdom 56 works
  5. 5 Tokyo Japan 56 works
  6. 6 Rome Italy 47 works
  7. 7 Paris France 47 works
  8. 8 Shanghai China 39 works
  9. 9 Cologne Germany 35 works
  10. 10 Xi'an China 35 works

Where it is the local speciality

  1. Mountain ViewUS · 21.4 works9.7×
  2. BoulderUS · 21.4 works8.1×
  3. CologneDE · 35.0 works8.1×
  4. HoustonUS · 72.0 works7.4×
← 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, Baylor College of Medicine, Harvard University and University of Colorado Boulder 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%20%40%mean 23.88%fractional works in this node (log) →share in the world top 10% →Baylor College of Medicine: 13, 23.6%Harvard University: 13, 35.6%University of Colorado Boulder: 14, 10.0%Cornell University: 10, 33.6%University of Florida: 12, 27.2%Beihang University: 16, 25.8%Texas A&M University: 11, 21.3%Massachusetts Institute of Technology: 8, 25.3%University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill: 16, 20.2%University of California San Diego: 12, 16.2%Harvard UniversityCornell UniversityBaylor College of Me…University of Colora…
above the meannear itbelow it

One dot per university in the table below. The upper left is the interesting corner: small places doing unusually strong work.

#UniversityScoreTop 10%SpecialisationWorksGrowth
1 Baylor College of MedicineUnited States 62.623.6%8.5×13 +257.8%
2 Harvard UniversityUnited States 49.435.6%2.6×13 +28.5%
3 University of Colorado BoulderUnited States 48.110.0%9.5×14 +70.5%
4 Cornell UniversityUnited States 42.333.6%2.4×10 +27.4%
5 University of FloridaUnited States 39.127.2%3.1×12 +15.7%
6 Beihang UniversityChina 38.725.8%3.8×16 -23.4%
7 Texas A&M UniversityUnited States 35.821.3%3.7×11 +16.2%
8 Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyUnited States 35.125.3%3.4×8 -17.8%
9 University of North Carolina at Chapel HillUnited States 34.920.2%2.4×16 +76.7%
10 University of California San DiegoUnited States 33.816.2%3.6×12 +46.9%

Universities only. Score blends excellence (30%), specialisation (25%), size (20%), growth (15%) and international reach (10%), 2015–2022; growth compares 2010–14 with 2015–19.

Is Spaceflight effects on biology research growing?

Output in 2018–2022 was 9% higher than in 2013–2017, peaking in 2024. The fastest-growing topics are Spaceflight effects on biology.

19801990200020102020
grewheldshrank

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

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.