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
- APOD: 2026 September 7 – The Pelican Nebula in Gas, Dust, and Stars
APOD Science APOD APOD: 2026 September 7 – The… Today’s APOD Archive Submissions Index Search Calendar RSS Education About Discuss APOD Astronomy Picture of the Day Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. The Pelican
- A Bright Spot at Mount Michael
With austral winter nearing its end, clouds cleared for a satellite view of volcanic activity in the remote South Atlantic.
- The landslide that caused the 26 August 2026 debris flow in Nepal and Tibet
Enough satellite and drone imagery is now available to allow some initial analysis of the landslide that started the 26 August 2026 debris flow in Nepal and Tibet. Much has been written over the last ten or so days about the tragic debris flow that has caused such high levels of damage and loss of
- The Economic Costs of Solar Storms
Though less present in the public consciousness than hurricanes and wildfires, space weather represents a real and potentially significant threat to society.
- In This Issue
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Volume 123, Issue 35, September 2026. <br/>
- Neural network–augmented Pfaffian wave-functions for scalable simulations of interacting fermions
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Volume 123, Issue 35, September 2026. <br/>SignificanceUnderstanding how electrons interact in two-dimensional materials is essential for explaining phenomena like high-temperature superconductivity, but existing numerical methods are often limited by systematic biases. Neural quantum states offer …
- China’s fast-track clinical trials are in the spotlight after child deaths
Nature, Published online: 08 September 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-02407-6A new government policy seeks to balance innovation and safety.
- Two children died from gene therapies in China: where the field goes next
Nature, Published online: 08 September 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-02497-2Strengthened laws should help to ensure future deaths are quickly disclosed to the public, but China’s reputation for such research is at risk.