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
- How a Johnson Mentor Shapes the Next Generation of NASA Talent
When Rice University student Malvika Bhardwaj asked her mentor Daniel Cohen, a Guidance, Navigation & Control (GN&C) engineer at NASA’s Johnson Space Center, whether he had time to keep teaching interns with his busy workload, he answered, “You decide what’s important.” In honor of National Mentoring Day on Oct. 27, Bhardwaj reflects on how Cohen’s
- APOD: 2026 October 27 – Noctilucent Clouds over Sweden
APOD Science APOD APOD: 2026 October 27 –… 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. Noctilucent Clouds over
- Antarctica’s Only Flowering Plants Take Opposite Paths Under Experimental Warming
A 7-year field experiment showed Antarctica’s native grass and pearlwort reworking their internal plumbing in contrasting ways as temperatures shifted.
- In Northeastern North America, Alpine Zones Are Turning Green
Using satellite data, scientists have detected where once-stable alpine ecosystems are transforming into greener, shrubbier places.
- In This Issue
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Volume 123, Issue 42, October 2026. <br/>
- Systemic collapse emergence from climate-induced perturbations in transportation networks
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Volume 123, Issue 42, October 2026. <br/>SignificanceHuman-made infrastructures are vulnerable to external stressors (e.g., due to climate), and their interaction can generate perturbations affecting system functionality. Even localized perturbations can propagate to remote parts of the system …
- Why pharma firms are betting billions on psychedelic drugs despite setbacks
Nature, Published online: 27 October 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-03390-8Regulatory pushback stalled the field. But researchers are optimistic about mind-altering drugs as potential treatments for depression and mood disorders.
- Could measuring immune health reshape medical care?
Nature, Published online: 27 October 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-03396-2Finding practical ways to analyse the state of a person’s immune system could guide treatment decisions and create opportunities for disease prevention.