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 Awards 2026 Innovative Technology Concepts
The NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) program has created 18 new awards to support visionary ideas to improve aerospace technologies in areas ranging from the exploration of the solar system to understanding the universe. The 18 NIAC Phase I awards total $3.2 million. Each award provides up to $175,000 for a nine-month initial investigation. The
- NASA Sets Coverage for August Northern Hemisphere Total Solar Eclipse
On Wednesday, Aug. 12, a total solar eclipse will be visible in parts of Greenland, Iceland, northern Russia, the Atlantic Ocean, Spain, and a small corner of Portugal. NASA will stream the eclipse live with views across the path and interviews with subject matter experts through a variety of platforms. Learn where to watch online:
- Tracking Penguin Poop from Space Reveals Antarctica’s Changing Ecosystems
Long-term records documenting the colors of penguin guano shed light on how declining sea ice may be affecting penguin diets.
- Arctic Sea Ice Loss May Be Reshaping the Asian Monsoon
The connections are still cloudy, but scientists are beginning to reveal ways in which disappearing sea ice may affect the annual monsoon thousands of kilometers away.
- In This Issue
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Volume 123, Issue 30, July 2026. <br/>
- Antimalarial cytoskeletal targeting with broad apicomplexan activity
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Volume 123, Issue 30, July 2026. <br/>SignificanceMalaria parasites are becoming resistant to current medicines, creating an urgent need for drugs that work in new ways. This study shows that blocking parasite myosin A, a motor protein needed for movement and host-cell invasion, can block…
- How silicon-chip technology is being re-engineered for quantum computing
Nature, Published online: 29 July 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-02124-0Two demonstrations of silicon-based quantum processors tackle the engineering challenges of building scalable quantum computers.
- The dark horse of biology: how RNA is becoming a nanotool maker’s dream
Nature, Published online: 29 July 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-02180-6Scientists are harnessing its ability to fold, switch and reorganize itself to create a new generation of cellular technologies.