Imagining…
Where Science Meets Creative Writing
Find a story within the topics above
How can we look at fossils and understand what creatures roamed the Earth millions of years ago?
How can we predict the behavior of materials deep within planetary interiors?
How can we reverse humanity’s impact on the global climate?
How can we predict habitats for life on other planets?
Doing impactful, innovative research requires training our brain to imagine the elusive unknown, even when bounded by scientific evidence. Now, more than ever in the history of human civilization, there is a pressing need to exercise our imagination muscles. Writing scientific fiction while accounting for the real science is a powerful way to do just that—to learn what is possible, what is probable, how we can change the future, and what our responsibility is to the future generation of our species.
Most Recent Stories
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Progress Without Morals
A scientist is trying to harness microbial properties to develop a fantastic tool. He believes he can; but should he?
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For Today’s Inspiration
- Strong Solar Flare
This Feb. 4, 2026, image from NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) captures a strong solar flare erupting from the star. Solar flares are powerful bursts of energy that can, along with other types of solar eruptions, can impact radio communications, electric power grids, navigation signals, and pose risks to spacecraft and astronauts. The flare pictured
- Boreal Forests Are Shifting North
The boreal forest—the world’s largest terrestrial biome—is warming faster than any other forest type. New research uses Landsat data to track how the forests shift.
- Graduate Students’ NSF Fellowship Applications Are Being “Returned Without Review”
Graduate students applying for NSF funding have had their applications returned without review—even though their proposed research appears to fall squarely within the fields of study outlined in the program solicitation.
- From Measurements to Solar Wind Model Initial Conditions
A new method shows how solar wind measurements at Earth can be used to define initial conditions for solar wind models to reduce their need for solar magnetic maps and decrease their uncertainty.
- A hack-proof internet? Quantum encryption could be the key
Team in China sends data with entangled atoms, neutralizing backdoor hardware threats
- Inside the quest to make a safer football helmet
New energy-absorbing designs and materials have revolutionized the iconic safety device
- In This Issue
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Volume 123, Issue 5, February 2026. <br/>
- Quantum benchmarking of high-fidelity noise-biased operations on a detuned Kerr-cat qubit
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Volume 123, Issue 5, February 2026. <br/>SignificanceThe path to practical quantum computing is hindered by the presence of noise, which disrupts fragile quantum information. Recent advances suggest that tailoring quantum hardware to favor certain types of noise can lead to more efficient error …
- US grant applicants surge at prestigious European research agency
Nature, Published online: 06 February 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-00362-wRush for funds to relocate laboratories to Europe is latest hint of a US brain drain.
- ‘We need to dismantle the stigma of alcohol dependence in academia’
Nature, Published online: 06 February 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-00155-1The academic workplace is getting better at supporting colleagues with anxiety and depression. Why does alcohol remain a taboo topic?