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
- Young ‘Sun’ Caught Blowing Bubbles by NASA’s Chandra
For the first time, a much younger version of the Sun has been caught red-handed blowing bubbles in the galaxy, by astronomers using NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory. The bubble – called an “astrosphere” – completely surrounds the juvenile star. Winds from the star’s surface are blowing up the bubble and filling it with hot gas
- Astronomy Activation Ambassadors: Embracing Multiple Perspectives
The Astronomy Activation Ambassadors (AAA) project, part of the NASA Science Activation program, aims to measurably enhance student STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, & Mathematics) engagement via middle school, high school, and community college science teacher professional development.
- These South Pole Seismometers Will Detect Vibrations 1.5 Miles Under the Ice
The instruments will freeze into Antarctica’s ice sheet, where they will collect detailed, global-scale seismic data.
- The 20 February 2026 garbage landslide at Rodriguez, Rizal in the Philippines
Three people were killed in a major failure at a privately owned garbage dump on Friday. Earlier reports of 50 deaths are now believed to have been erroneous. On 20 February 2026, the Philippines suffered another major garbage landslide, following the tragic events that occurred at Binaliw in Cebu on 8 January 2026, which killed
- Unorthodox ‘universal vaccine’ offers broad protection in mice
Immune-stimulating cocktail could shield against diverse bacterial and viral infections
- A little-known flu virus is sickening cattle around the world. Are humans next?
Features of recently identified influenza D point to possible pandemic threat
- In This Issue
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Volume 123, Issue 7, February 2026. <br/>
- Gradience as a cognitive principle for evaluating numerical notations
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Volume 123, Issue 7, February 2026. <br/>SignificanceThis study presents a cognitive principle, gradience, for comparing the communicative efficiency of numerical notations, along with two indices for measuring gradience, jitter and inversion. In general, larger numbers require more signs than …
- Historically Black US universities chase top research ranking
Nature, Published online: 23 February 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-00366-6Howard University is reaping the rewards of becoming the first such institution to reach ‘R1’ status.
- This AI can improve your peer review — and make it more polite
Nature, Published online: 23 February 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-00536-6A system of five models helps peer reviewers to write more constructive comments, but it is not yet known whether this strengthens the papers that are being reviewed.