Inverse - 🧬 Breakthrough Awards

Monday

Dec 19 2022

As the year comes to a close, we are reflecting on what an incredible year it has been in science. Part of our end of year coverage includes our Breakthrough Awards: a series of profiles highlighting researchers who have done outstanding work in 2022 that is set to change the course of their field.

Today, Inverse science reporter Elana Spivack provides us a window into the work of Sergiu Pașca, a physician-turned-neuroscientist whose work at Stanford University is set to transform the way we study brain disorders, including autism and schizophrenia, which have long been difficult to study. Spivack's profile weaves together his latest breakthrough this year, what motivates Pasca, and what he has in store for 2023 and beyond.

What's New

BREAKTHROUGH AWARDS

Science

This neuroscientist’s breakthrough experiment could herald a new era of psychiatry

Transformation is one of science’s greatest capers. It may seem incomprehensible, but under the right conditions one can observe that it’s a painstaking series of reactions. While the hallmarks of transformation seem like alchemy (water into wine, ordinary metal into gold), nature abounds with metamorphs: a chrysalis into a butterfly, an acorn into an oak tree, and even — when coaxed — skin cells into neurons.

Sergiu Pașca knows transformation intimately. The 40-year-old Stanford neuroscientist and professor has undergone monumental change himself, and now he’s shifting psychiatric research at large by way of performing transformations at the cellular level.

Movies

Entertainment

The oral history of Helm’s Deep

Thirty minutes outside of New Zealand’s capital city of Wellington, Dry Creek Quarry isn’t where most people would think the fate of Middle-earth would be decided.

But it was here that, for 120 days, the cast and crew of Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers went to hell and back. Zulu meets the Battle of Thermopylae, Helm’s Deep remains the crown jewel of the Oscar-winning trilogy. Faced with a seismic task, logistical challenges, and night shoots in the driving rain, what unfolded was arguably one of the greatest action sequences of all time — and an unbreakable fellowship among the cast and crew.

Inverse Awards

Science

The 10 weirdest animal discoveries of 2022

Nature is full of surprises. We might think we know a lot about animals, but some of their weirdest behaviors remain hidden under our noses.

In 2022, many peculiar and previously unknown animal behaviors came to light in scientific studies. Faceplanting frogs, growling bats, and a vast deep sea fish nest were just some of the findings that made headlines this year.

See the full list

Inverse Awards

Entertainment

How Jenna Ortega reinvented the Scream Queen title

It’s been a great year for horror.

Films like Smile and Terrifier 2 smashed expectations at the box office. Ti West shocked fans with a surprise follow-up to his slasher hit X, turning Pearl into another showcase for rising genre star Mia Goth. But if anyone can be said to have ruled 2022 in the horror sphere, it’s the year’s indisputable scream queen Jenna Ortega.

The young actress appeared in four horror features this year (including X) and starred in Netflix’s spooky hit series Wednesday. Between carrying existing franchises on her back and experimenting with different shades of horror within the genre, Ortega became 2022’s reigning horror champion.

Year in Review

Gear

Inverse editor Raymond Wong’s 14 favorite tech products of 2022

As 2022 comes to a close, we want to share with you the devices, software, and services that have made the Inverse gear team's lives both professionally and personally better throughout the year.

Nothing here is sponsored, though we will get a commission if you buy anything through the affiliate links. Mostly, this is just our team's personal favorite tech of the year — all in one place.

See the full list

Inverse Awards

Gaming

The 10 best Xbox Game Pass games of 2022

No matter how much of a meme it’s become, it’s still true: Xbox Game Pass is the best deal in gaming. Xbox fully embraced the subscription model this year, adding day-one exclusives and surprising pulls from the back catalog every month to keep your console (or computer, or smartphone) bursting with great new games.

New gems get added so often it can be hard to keep track. But if all those options make it hard to know where to start, fear not! Here are the 10 best Game Pass games that everyone was talking about (and playing) in 2022. With a solid mix of action, adventure, and great stories, there’s something for everyone.

Inverse - 🧬 Breakthrough Awards

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