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
- Millions of Stars in Cigar Galaxy
NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope recently observed edge-on starburst galaxy Messier 82 (M82), nicknamed the Cigar Galaxy. Webb’s new view of M82, added to archival data from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope, gives us a more complete picture of this starburst galaxy. Because Webb can see infrared light, it is able to peer through clouds of
- A Turquoise Tint for the Black Sea
Phytoplankton added a milky blue hue to the waters of the Black Sea and nearby waterways in spring and summer 2026.
- Venezuelan Earthquakes Struck in a Complex Zone of Faults
Two powerful earthquakes hit Venezuela within less than a minute on the evening of 24 June, causing widespread damage to buildings, likely spurring landslides, and killing at least 164 people, though the full extent of the damage is still being assessed.
- Fragmented Forests Sequester Less Carbon
New research has revealed that larger, unified forests store more carbon than the same area of fragmented patches.
- In This Issue
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Volume 123, Issue 25, June 2026. <br/>
- Video games help push the boundaries of AI
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Volume 123, Issue 25, June 2026. <br/>
- Genomic insights into the population dynamics and demise of Neanderthals
Nature, Published online: 24 June 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-01704-4A surge of genetic data from the skeletal remains of Neanderthals disproves some assumptions and generates fresh questions about these ancient hominins.
- Alternate RNA decoding results in stable and abundant proteins in mammals
Nature, Published online: 24 June 2026; doi:10.1038/s41586-026-10678-2Alternate RNA decoding, an understudied process, leads to peptide sequence modifications that can have substantial functional effects on protein stability, tissue-specific proteomes and disease.