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
-
-
Progress Without Morals
A scientist is trying to harness microbial properties to develop a fantastic tool. He believes he can; but should he?
-
For Today’s Inspiration
- NASA Improves Shock, Vibration Analysis
Rockets vibrate, shake, and flex intensely as they climb into space, and spacecraft packed with delicate scientific instruments must survive those forces. Before any rocket leaves the ground, NASA engineers work to predict how those stresses will affect every part of a spacecraft. To do that, engineers in the Dynamic Environments Group with NASA’s Launch
- Software
Research teams at NASA’s Glenn Research Center are involved in developing theory and software to predict the noise from aircraft engines. This software helps engineers to design and analyze new and improved aircraft propulsion systems. Copies of our software can be requested from NASA’s Software Catalog. JeNo Development of jet noise prediction codes is multifaceted.
- Equatorial Pacific Warming Pattern Mitigated by Slow Ocean Adjustment
Model simulations under an abrupt 4x CO2 scenario reveal that initially enhanced gradients in sea surface temperature under global warming are then mitigated by circulation changes.
- Biosignatures Extend Robustly into the Top Kilometer of Sedimentary Basins
Through the top kilometer of sedimentary basins, biosignatures track microbial cells, permeability, and water inputs. Below that, permeability limits microbial presence despite temperatures conducive to life.
- In This Issue
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Volume 123, Issue 41, October 2026. <br/>
- Interventions to mitigate post-infection morbidity: Management insights from simple models
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Volume 123, Issue 41, October 2026. <br/>SignificanceMany infectious diseases cause morbidity after recovery. However, management typically focuses on acute burden. Moving beyond this, we use models to examine interactions between interventions and post-infection effects. We show that reductions …
- Three reasons why AI is not conscious and perhaps never will be
Nature, Published online: 19 October 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-03313-7Large language models can mimic thought and feeling with uncanny skill. But evidence from neuroscience suggests that intelligence alone is not enough for subjective experience.
- ‘Fiercely stubborn’: the US scientists continuing their research amid funding cuts
Nature, Published online: 19 October 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-03315-5Researchers working on climate change, diversity, transgender health and international aid have turned to lawsuits, private donors and alternative topics to keep their projects going.