Frontiers in Physiology is pleased to announce the launch of a new section, ‘Environmental, Aviation and Space Physiology’. This is the third section launch in the journal this year, following expansions into ‘Avian Physiology’ and ‘Embryonic and Developmental Physiology’.

The section will be led by two co-Specialty Chief Editors, Professors Richard Boyle of the NASA Ames Research Centre, USA and Hanns-Christian Gunga of Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Germany.

The section will consider many of the challenges humans face on Earth and in space. Organisms, both animal and human, must by necessity adapt to their surroundings to survive. Environmental changes may be gradual, as seen in climate change, or drastic, such as propelling an organism into space. In order to understand how our animals are adapting to their habitats, and to know how the human body copes with exposure to extreme environments, research into physiological change becomes ever more important.

“As this section presents new and critical findings, it examines the nature of life itself, its evolutionary history, and its interrelationships to other organisms and its environment in a vastly changing world”.

Even as high altitudes, arctic conditions and changing climates on Earth push animal and human bodies to extremes, it is a feat of human achievement to consider the substantial technological advances made in space travel. Professors Boyle and Gunga emphasized the importance of these developments in their mission statement:

“Not only will the human crews be confined to extremely isolated and hostile environments, but so too will the living organisms transported with them…The success and survivability of these endeavors will depend on our understanding of how life responds to the initial and long-term changes and adaptations within and across generations.”

To properly address the current issue of climate change and to develop our ability to endure space flight, the international editorial board is composed of experts from a range of fields including space and gravitational physiology, neuroscience, biomedicine, psychology and ecology. You can find out more about the section and its scope here.

Environmental, Aviation and Space Physiology is now ready to welcome high-quality submissions and Research Topic proposals.