As treasures of the traditional Chinese medicine, acupuncture, and Chinese herbal medicine date back to more than 2,500 years and have achieved sound effects in the clinical practice. The effects of acupuncture and Chinese herbs are usually demonstrated by the biological regulations on physiological and pathological processes after prescriptions intake and stimulation on acupuncture points, which are inherent responses of the life and of great importance in the life science research.

The researches of acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine have obtained significant improvement with technical supports of life science in recent years. At the same time, the studies of acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine have in turn accelerated the development of biomedical science as well as understanding of life, which also influence the western medicine and make the combination of both forms of treatment become possible. For example, the achievements of sixty-year acupuncture anesthesia research and application have enriched the gate control theory of pain and clarified the underlying mechanism of endorphin release. The discovery of artemisinin (qinghaosu) originates from Chinese medicine, which is now a key antimalarial drug in the conventional medicine. Traditional Chinese medicine and western medicine have mutual influence on each other, which finally promotes the innovation of life science.

In order to deepen our knowledge of acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine, it is urgently needed to dig out the biological value of traditional Chinese medicine and integrate Chinese and western medicine, which may turn hypothesis to solid data-driven research and creative discovery of life science. We invite investigators to contribute original research articles and review articles in multidisciplinary and cross-cutting area, especially elucidating the impact of acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine on the life science research. Potential topics include, but are not limited to:

• Substantial basis of acupuncture and Chinese herbs
• Biological significance of Chinese medicine theory and its physiological phenomenon
• Study on the potential biological targets of acupuncture and Chinese herbs
• Effective model comparison between Chinese medicine and conventional medicine
• Review of the role of acupuncture and Chinese herbs in the life science

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