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 Wins Four Telly Awards for Artemis Moon Coverage, More
NASA’s historic Artemis II mission coverage, which connected global audiences to watch the first humans to travel around the Moon in more than half a century, is among the agency’s video productions recognized with four 2026 Telly Awards. The agency’s continuous, 24/7 livestream of the Artemis II mission, which functioned as both a live event
- Hubble Sights Galaxy in Transition
This NASA Hubble Space Telescope image reveals an enigmatic galaxy with a bright center and a face that hints at spiral structure, yet it holds no obvious spiral arms. Reddish-brown clumps and filaments of dust partially obscure the galaxy’s full face, while red, blue, and orange light from distant galaxies shines through its diffuse outer regions and
- Recycled Rocks Reveal Subduction Zone Dynamics Off Baja California
High-pressure rocks on Cedros Island were exhumed, eroded, and redeposited into the subduction trench multiple times, reshaping interpretations of ancient plate boundary processes.
- What Winds Whip Up Otherworldly Waves?
New research goes back to the basics to explain how atmospheric conditions affect the creation of wind-driven waves on other worlds.
- Ancient wars between microbes gave us key immune defenses
A better understanding of battles between bacteria and viruses could inspire new medicines
- A student takes on Stanford (and the world) | Science
Theo Baker spills Silicon Valley secrets and revisits his efforts to expose a shocking breach of research integrity
- In This Issue
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Volume 123, Issue 20, May 2026. <br/>
- Multiscale fatigue crack initiation in hierarchical additively manufactured alloys
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Volume 123, Issue 20, May 2026. <br/>SignificanceA majority of mechanical failures are caused by fatigue, where damage progressively accumulates during cyclic loading. Hierarchical microstructures enabled by additive manufacturing offer a promising route to fatigue-resistant alloys. However, …
- Will this Ebola outbreak be the biggest yet?
Nature, Published online: 21 May 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-01646-xThe size of the outbreak in its initial days is worrying researchers. The next few weeks will determine how large it grows, they say.
- Should I get a dog? What to know about pet ownership as a scientist
Nature, Published online: 21 May 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-00198-4Animal companions can be a lot of work, and are difficult to fit into a busy professional’s life, but they can also enhance well-being.