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 Investigates How People Respond to Air Taxi Noise
New kinds of aircraft taking to the skies could mean unfamiliar sounds overhead — and where you’re hearing them might matter, according to new NASA research. NASA aeronautics has worked for years to enable new air transportation options for people and goods, and to find ways to make sure they can be safely and effectively
- NASA Releases Report on Starliner Crewed Flight Test Investigation
At a news conference on Thursday, NASA released a report of findings from the Program Investigation Team examining the Boeing CST-100 Starliner Crewed Flight Test as part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program. “The Boeing Starliner spacecraft has faced challenges throughout its uncrewed and most recent crewed missions. While Boeing built Starliner, NASA accepted it and launched two astronauts to space.
- This Potential Exoplanet Is Earth Sized but May Be Colder Than Mars
A new analysis of old mission data may have revealed a possible Earth-sized planet orbiting the K-dwarf star HD 137010.
- Landslides on Mauao in New Zealand following the 22 January 2026 rainfall event
To date, 42 landslides have been identified on Mauao (Mount Manganui) in New Zealand following the 22 January 2026 rainfall event. The extreme rainfall event that affected parts of the North Island of New Zealand triggered two fatal landslides, of which the major failure at the Mount Maunganui Beachside Holiday Park on the flanks of
- Unorthodox ‘universal vaccine’ offers broad protection in mice
Immune-stimulating cocktail could shield against diverse bacterial and viral infections
- A little-known flu virus is sickening cattle around the world. Are humans next?
Features of recently identified influenza D point to possible pandemic threat
- How earthquakes organize stress
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Volume 123, Issue 6, February 2026. <br/>SignificanceEarthquakes organize the stress in the crust by redistributing it through slip events. As a result, fault systems evolve to preferred, reproducible states as evidenced by natural experiments that measure statistical distributions of stress …
- Universal relation between spectral and wavefunction properties at criticality
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Volume 123, Issue 6, February 2026. <br/>SignificanceAn important role in physics research is to uncover universal properties of various systems with different microscopic descriptions. Examples of microscopic models that exhibit paradigmatic properties are those that describe chaotic quantum …
- Science journalism on the ropes worldwide as US aid cuts bite
Nature, Published online: 19 February 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-00117-7Federal freezes to foreign assistance are affecting grants for investigative reporters everywhere — but especially in poorer countries.
- Academia’s parent trap: the struggles faced by researcher mothers
Nature, Published online: 19 February 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-00157-zHow effective is the sector at supporting early career scientists hoping to start a family, including those who face fertility challenges?