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
- Risks of Decompression Sickness and Venous Thromboembolism during Spaceflight and Patent Foramen Ovale Implications
NASA’s Office of the Chief Health and Medical Officer formed a working group in August 2026 to review the most recent data related to extravehicular activity (EVA) prebreathe testing and decompression sickness (DCS) events, venous thromboembolism (VTE) in-flight occurrences, and patent foramen ovale (PFO) implication as they relate to NASA’s Artemis (lunar and beyond) missions. The recommendations from this working group are built upon and integrate the outcomes of previous working groups hosted by OCHMO.
- NASA-Funded Research Finds Complex Life Defying Record Heat
Lee esta historia en español aquí. NASA-supported scientists have discovered an organism that lives at extreme temperatures previously thought impossible for complex life. High temperatures can cause the destruction of necessary cell components, which is a big problem for cells with complex parts like a nucleus encasing delicate genetic information. In the heated waters of
- Briny “Death Pools” Hold Clues to Early Life
New evidence from the depths of the Red Sea supports the oxidation of manganese and iron as an engine for life in the earliest oceans.
- Presumed Role of Chorus Waves Out of Tune with New Data
Distinctive plasma ripples are thought to play a big role in electron loss from Earth’s radiation belts, but a new study suggests a more limited influence.
- In This Issue
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Volume 123, Issue 37, September 2026. <br/>
- Correction for Yates et al., Neural event segmentation of continuous experience in human infants
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Volume 123, Issue 37, September 2026. <br/>
- Hundreds of ‘free’ academic journals have started charging fees
Nature, Published online: 22 September 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-02818-5A study tracking diamond open-access journals has found an increase in titles switching to other publishing models — especially over the past few years.
- This super-cold microscope could spur a quantum revolution
Nature, Published online: 22 September 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-02942-2The instrument, which operates near absolute zero for hours, will soon ship to a few labs. Researchers are thrilled.