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
- NASA Astronaut Chris Williams to Discuss Space Station Mission
NASA astronaut Chris Williams will recap his recent eight-month mission aboard the International Space Station during a news conference at 2:45 p.m. EDT Tuesday, Aug. 4, from the agency’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. NASA will stream this event live through a variety of platforms. Learn where to watch online: https://www.nasa.gov/live United States-based media interested
- NASA Science Soars During August Total Solar Eclipse
Each time the Moon covers the Sun during a total solar eclipse — darkening daytime skies and briefly revealing the Sun’s ethereal outer atmosphere, the corona — it presents new opportunities to better understand our star and its influence on Earth. On Wednesday, Aug. 12, as the next total solar eclipse sweeps over Greenland, Iceland,
- The Role of Tidal Wetlands in the Global Nitrogen Cycle Under Global Change
A new study of tidal wetland data highlights their capacity to sequester nitrogen (blue nitrogen), a function that could be weakened or even reversed by wetland area loss.
- The Hidden Costs of Mining River Sand
River sand and gravel fuel global construction, but their extraction is reshaping rivers, ecosystems, and communities faster than sustainable management can keep pace.
- In This Issue
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Volume 123, Issue 29, July 2026. <br/>
- Relative Thom conjectures, symplectic and beyond
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Volume 123, Issue 29, July 2026. <br/>SignificanceIn the mid 20th century, mathematicians discovered that 4-dimensional spaces, called 4-manifolds, display subtleties not present in other dimensions. Embedded surfaces are key to our understanding, especially those with additional geometric …
- A fever dream of jellies and slugs
Nature, Published online: 27 July 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-02314-wA celebration of Ernst Haeckel’s sketches of life forms, from microscopic to majestic.
- Phase-homogeneous mixed halide perovskites for stable tandem photovoltaics
Nature, Published online: 27 July 2026; doi:10.1038/s41586-026-10929-2Phase-homogeneous mixed halide perovskites for stable tandem photovoltaics