10 most viewed Research Topics in 2023

This year, researchers explored a wide range of topics, including:

With over 1.8 million views, the following Research Topics sought answers to your biggest research questions from 2023.

1 | Towards a New 3Rs Era in Experimental Research

36 articles │ 177,000 views

With the persisting need of animal experimentation for fundamental and applied research, the relevance and importance of the 3Rs Principle cannot be ignored. The 3Rs Principle of Replace, Reduce, Refine provides an essential framework for more humane animal experimentation in research.

This multi-disciplinary research review is a pan-European initiative supported by all EU 3R centers exploring the 3Rs Principle advances, challenges, and opportunities. The Research Topic draws upon multiple scientific disciplines, including biomedical, veterinary, biostatistical, biotechnology, and computer science, as well as perspectives from education, social, political, and ethical research in the 3Rs field.

2 | Combinational Immunotherapy of Cancer: Novel Targets, Mechanisms, and Strategies

84 articles │ 176,000 views

Cancer immunotherapy, including immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) and chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CAR-T) therapy, has revolutionized the paradigm in cancer treatment. However, the clinical outcome of immunotherapy varies considerably among patients, and only a minority of patients achieve long-term clinical benefits.

This Research Topic gathers novel insights into the cancer immunity mechanisms, novel therapeutic targets, and effective combinational strategies of cancer immunotherapies. It also addresses the fundamental understanding of mechanisms underlying cancer immunotherapy and the therapeutic potential of novel combinational therapy.

3 | Breathing in Sport and Exercise: Physiology, Pathophysiology and Applications

37 articles │ 180,000 views

The respiratory system has long been considered overbuilt for exercise as it is usually not the limiting factor for maximal oxygen uptake. However, growing evidence suggests that ventilatory variables such as respiratory frequency (ƒR) especially are closely associated with perceived exertion and exercise tolerance in different populations and exercise conditions, with important implications for endurance physiology and performance.

This Research Topic advances our understanding of the physiology and pathophysiology of breathing during exercise to advance the field of respiratory monitoring in applied settings. It also bridges the gap between the physiology/pathophysiology of breathing and respiratory monitoring.

4 | Multidisciplinary COVID-19 research

91 articles │ 148,000 views

The outbreak of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) has seriously impacted mental and physical health worldwide. New and emerging solutions to global health threats posed by COVID-19 are urgently needed.

This second volume brings together scientists and clinicians in artificial intelligence, mathematics and statistics, neural science, neurorobotics, social sciences, computational biology, medical health care, psychiatry, and psychology to promote COVID-19 research and stimulate collaboration between researchers in these diverse fields.

5 | Sustainable Career Development in the Turbulent, Boundaryless and Internet Age

40 articles │ 115,000 views

Government’s social policies, such as school-to-work transitional regulations, and the extended retirement age, suggest that people today may face a different labor market situation, compared to other generations.

Career sustainability is a key issue, and it is particularly the case for vulnerable groups, such as the underemployed, (re) employment of laidoff workers, and those who strive to balance between work and personal life. Therefore, this research topic investigates the antecedents and outcomes of career sustainability in different social contexts.

6 | The Nobel collection, Volume 2 - Frontiers for Young Minds

10 articles │ 673,000 views

This second Volume of our unique Nobel Collection brings you more articles by Nobel Prize winners written specifically for young minds. These amazing research leaders explain their ground-breaking discoveries and how they achieved them, and also share their thoughts on making a career path in science with advice for becoming a successful researcher and having a happy life.

7 | Psychiatrization of society

17 articles │104,000 views

Worldwide, there have been consistently rising incidences of people classified as mentally ill, paired with increasing mental healthcare service utilization over the last decades. This process can be described as the psychiatrization of society.

Individuals or groups might well benefit from aspects of psychiatrization. Yet psychiatrization can be potentially harmful to individuals and to public healthcare, through overdiagnosis and overtreatment, the psychological burden of being labeled, and, in the Global North, exploding costs to meet the needs of the ‘worried well’.

This article collection seeks to theoretically and empirically assesses the causes, mechanisms, and effects of psychiatrization, as well to understand, prevent, and manage its negative aspects.

8 | Patterns, Functions, and Processes of Alpine Grassland Ecosystems under Global Change

76 articles │ 102,000 views

Alpine grassland ecosystems provide important ecological services and functions, such as biodiversity conservation, carbon storage, and water resource regulation, and critical ecosystem services, such as pastoral production, cultural inheritance, tourism, and recreation. In recent decades, some of these regions have experienced rapid climatic warming and changes in precipitation regimes.

This Research Topic elucidates the patterns, functions, processes, and mechanisms of alpine grassland ecosystems responding to changing environments. The goal is to influence the development of adaptive management practices for alpine grassland ecosystems under future environmental change.

9 | Abiotic Stress-Induced Responses and Tolerance Mechanisms in Plants: Molecular, Cellular, Physiological and Biochemical Levels

59 articles │ 99,000 views

In nature, plants are constantly facing adverse environmental conditions, including abiotic stresses caused by extreme low and high temperature, salinity, drought, flood, heavy metal toxicity and oxidative stress. These stresses, especially drought, salinity, and high temperature, are the major causes of crop loss around the globe.

This Research Topic advances our understanding of the fundamental processes, stress signaling, and adaptation mechanisms that develop in plants in response to various abiotic stresses.

10 | Serving Vulnerable and Marginalized Populations in Social and Educational Contexts

26 articles │ 97,000 views

There is evidence that the global COVID-19 crisis is exacerbating existing inequalities and marginalization of vulnerable groups. These multi-sectoral and intersecting challenges require multi- and interdisciplinary interventions to inform inclusive responses.

This Research Topic addresses the educational and socio-emotional needs of marginalized, vulnerable, at-risk, and exceptional learners during and after crises. It also addresses the psychological, educational, sociological, health, gender, cultural, and economic aspects of vulnerable and marginalized children and adolescents in developed and developing countries.