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
- Curiosity Blog, Sols 4568-4569: A Close Look at the Altadena Drill Hole and Tailings
Written by Sharon Wilson Purdy, Planetary Geologist at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum Earth planning date: Wednesday, June 11, 2025 As we near the end of our Altadena drill campaign, Curiosity continued her exploration of the Martian bedrock within the boxwork structures on Mount Sharp. After successfully delivering a powdered rock sample to
- NASA, DoD Practice Abort Scenarios Ahead of Artemis II Moon Mission
NASA and the Department of Defense (DoD) teamed up June 11 and 12 to simulate emergency procedures they would use to rescue the Artemis II crew in the event of a launch emergency. The simulations, which took place off the coast of Florida and were supported by launch and flight control teams, are preparing NASA
- Fallowed Fields Are Fueling California’s Dust Problem
New research shows that unplanted agricultural lands are behind most of the state’s anthropogenic dust events.
- Coverage Factors Affect Urban CO2 Monitoring from Space
Orbital mechanics and environmental factors limiting the ability of Orbiting Carbon Observatory missions to collect data in space and time affect city-level monitoring, reporting, and verification goals.
- Tropical forests are heating up. Can they cope?
Scientists are pushing plants beyond their comfort zone to test their resilience to warming
- A metabolite-based resistance mechanism against malaria | Science
Jaundice is a common presentation of Plasmodium falciparum malaria, which arises from the accumulation of circulating bilirubin. It is not understood whether it represents an adaptive or maladaptive response to Plasmodium spp. infection. We found that …
- In This Issue
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Volume 122, Issue 23, June 2025. <br/>
- Programmable seconds-to-days-long delayed snapping in jumping metashells
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Volume 122, Issue 23, June 2025. <br/>SignificanceTimekeeping is fundamental to both nature and society, spanning from biological rhythms to mechanical clocks. However, integrating timekeeping capabilities into engineered shape-shifting systems to enable programmable, autonomous …
- Some US researchers want to leave the country. Can Europe take them?
Nature, Published online: 13 June 2025; doi:10.1038/d41586-025-01629-4As the Trump administration steps up attacks on US universities and scientific institutions, the European Union is campaigning hard to attract scientists from the United States. But how many can the bloc take?
- Mysterious link between Earth’s magnetism and oxygen baffles scientists
Nature, Published online: 13 June 2025; doi:10.1038/d41586-025-01862-xEarth’s magnetic field seems to correlate with conditions that helped complex life to thrive — a discovery that could aid the search for life on distant exoplanets.