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 Sets Coverage for Roman Space Telescope Launch from Florida
Coverage plans are ready for NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope prelaunch and launch activities. Roman is NASA’s next-generation observatory designed to explore some of the universe’s biggest mysteries, including dark energy. NASA and SpaceX are targeting Roman’s liftoff for no earlier than 7:26 a.m. EDT Sunday, Aug. 30, aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket
- Perseverance Captures Another Phobos Transit
Description NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover used its Mastcam-Z camera to capture the silhouette of Phobos, one of the two Martian moons, as it crossed in front of the Sun on Aug. 12, 2026, the 1,948th Martian day, or sol, of the mission. The animation has been tinted to simulate what a human would see if
- Climate Model Benchmarking: Building Trust and Advancing Science
A critical look at how well climate models work, how to successfully use them, and the anticipated challenges for their next-generation development.
- Why Marine Heat Waves and Acidification Strike Together
A chemistry tug-of-war between ocean acidity and carbon in warming oceans determines when and where these damaging events strike.
- In This Issue
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Volume 123, Issue 33, August 2026. <br/>
- Beyond “non-significant” results: Why and how to test for practical equivalence
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Volume 123, Issue 33, August 2026. <br/>Reporting comparisons withP≥ 0.05 as showing “no effect” or “no difference” remains one of the most widespread and problematic misinterpretations in the scientific literature. A statistically nonsignificant result shows only that the data do not provide …
- Patient’s own mitochondria injected into eyes in attempt to restore vision
Nature, Published online: 24 August 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-02616-zInjection of a person’s own mitochondria into the retina was safe but had only a temporary effect on restoring vision.
- Can AI ever be conscious? The question stems from a misconception
Nature, Published online: 24 August 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-02571-9A book outlines how the fields of artificial intelligence, psychology and philosophy have neglected a key aspect of consciousness: the body.