Imagining Science

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.

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    The Republic of Croatia became the 74th signatory to the Artemis Accords on Wednesday during a ceremony in the capital city of Zagreb with NASA and U.S. Department of State officials present. “It is my privilege to welcome the Republic of Croatia as the latest signatory of the Artemis Accords,” said NASA Deputy Matt Anderson

  • NASA Selects Far-Infrared Telescope as First in New Mission Class

    NASA announced Wednesday a mission to explore the history and evolution of the universe, PRIMA (PRobe far-Infrared Mission for Astrophysics), is advancing to the next phase of development. This space telescope is the first in a new class of NASA astrophysics missions, called Probe Explorers, within the agency’s longstanding Explorers Program. “The PRIMA mission is

    • In This Issue

      Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Volume 123, Issue 38, September 2026. <br/>

    • Zinc isotopic evidence for an Archean initiation of deep carbon cycling

      Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Volume 123, Issue 38, September 2026. <br/>SignificanceUnderstanding when Earth’s deep carbon cycle began is critical for reconstructing planetary evolution and habitability. We add to this debate by integrating new zinc (Zn) isotopic data for Phanerozoic and Precambrian carbonatites plus …

    • MMEJ repair of breaks at TA repeats maintains ecDNA and cancer fitness

      Nature, Published online: 23 September 2026; doi:10.1038/s41586-026-11048-8Stability of extrachromosomal DNA (ecDNA) relies on microhomology-mediated end joining at fragile TA-rich sites, with FANCM suppressing break formation, suggesting that Polθ disruption may destabilize ecDNA and sensitize ecDNA-driven tumours to therapeutic intervention.

    • Neuronal detection of social actions directs collective escape behaviour

      Nature, Published online: 23 September 2026; doi:10.1038/s41586-026-11041-1Collective escape in Danionella cerebrum arises from visual detection of rapid, biologically realistic motion of other fish, with midbrain and thalamic neurons encoding social offsets that enable fish to infer danger from others’ behaviour.