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
- Ailing “Megaberg” Sparks Surge of Microscopic Life
As Iceberg A-23A disintegrated, it shed meltwater that helped fuel an extensive phytoplankton bloom in the South Atlantic Ocean.
- About Air Traffic Management and Safety Project
The Air Traffic Management and Safety (ATMS) project defines, validates, and transfers advanced requirements and technologies to shift air traffic management from tactical to strategic. This change enables efficient, productive, and resilient operations while reducing safety assurance and compliance costs for highly automated systems. ATMS researches and develops technologies that safely integrate new air vehicles with traditional aviation operations to meet growing demand. Through close collaboration with the FAA, ATMS delivers actionable automation solutions, advanced operational concepts,
- What do BLOBs Have to Do with Earth’s Magnetic Field? A Lot, It Turns Out
Enormous provinces of superheated mantle exert a powerful influence over our planet’s magnetic field, researchers have discovered.
- Scientists Create the First Map of Deep Earthquakes Beneath Continents
Scientists once thought Earth’s continental mantle was too weak for earthquakes. A new global map of 459 deep tremors suggests otherwise.
- Can a wealthy family change the course of a deadly brain disease?
Inspired by the loss of their mother, they have poured millions into studying a key protein behind frontotemporal dementia. But all has not gone according to plan
- Structural modeling reveals phage proteins that manipulate bacterial immune signaling | Science
Immune systems in animals, plants, and bacteria often rely on intracellular nucleotide signaling, which viruses can block by sequestering or degrading these signals. We identified structural and biophysical traits shared by diverse viral antidefense …
- In This Issue
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Volume 123, Issue 9, March 2026. <br/>
- Ecological inheritance facilitates the coexistence of environmental helpers and free riders
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Volume 123, Issue 9, March 2026. <br/>SignificanceA central question in evolutionary biology is why variation in traits that affect fitness persists within populations. Here we consider the role of ecological inheritance, whereby organisms modify their local environment and pass these …
- High-rise transistors can be used to build space-saving circuits
Nature, Published online: 05 March 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-00249-wLogical circuits have been built from nanosheet stacks of various transistors, which could make electronic devices faster and more compact.
- How these koalas bounced back from the brink of extinction
Nature, Published online: 05 March 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-00746-yTracking DNA recombination offers hope for other species that have lost genetic diversity.