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’s Artemis II Crew Receives Congressional Space Medal of Honor
From left to right: NASA astronauts Victor Glover and Christina Koch, CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen, and NASA astronaut Reid Wiseman receive the Congressional Space Medal of Honor from President Donald J. Trump on Aug. 28, 2026, for their service during the Artemis II mission. The Congressional Space Medal of Honor was authorized
- NASA Awards First Prize in Phase 2 of Agency’s LunaRecycle Challenge
NASA named a team from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) as the first prize winner for Phase 2 of the agency’s LunaRecycle Challenge, which focused on developing solutions for reducing waste during missions to the Moon or deep space by recycling common materials, like fabrics, plastics, foam, and metals. The Composites for Extraterrestrial Recycling By Engineering the Reuse and Upcycling of Zotek (CERBERUZ) team, comprised of undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral students at MIT, received a total of $775,000 in awards. The technology grinds mixed trash into a fine powder,
- Prioritizing Quality Before Synthesis in Paleoenvironmental Hazard Science
The field needs methodological and workforce development. A proposed new center should invest there first.
- Climate Change Will Reshape Malaria Prevalence Across Africa
As the continent warms, once cooler regions will become prime habitat for mosquitoes and their parasites, while in other regions, heat will lower disease transmission.
- In This Issue
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Volume 123, Issue 34, August 2026. <br/>
- Macrophages diverge into profibrotic SAMs and proresolving ReM2 cells to regulate liver fibrosis
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Volume 123, Issue 34, August 2026. <br/>SignificanceLiver fibrosis, a scarring process that underlies chronic liver disease, remains untreatable. Macrophages are immune cells that either promote scarring or help the liver heal, but how they decide between these roles is unclear. Using a mouse …
- Will Meta’s deal make social media safe for kids? Researchers are dubious
Nature, Published online: 28 August 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-02733-9Nature talks to specialists about the changes coming to Facebook and Instagram, and whether there’s evidence they will help.
- Heisuke Hironaka obituary: mathematician who smoothed out geometry’s complexities
Nature, Published online: 28 August 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-02688-xHis awe-inspiring proof for the resolution of singularities — such as peaks, edges and self-crossings — revolutionized algebraic geometry.