WHITE SUPREMACY KILLS

New study shows Black cancer survivors face increased mortality from heart disease; neighborhood socioeconomic status and insurance contributing factors

Peer-Reviewed Publication

AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY

 

IMAGE: NEW STUDY SHOWS BLACK CANCER SURVIVORS FACE INCREASED MORTALITY FROM HEART DISEASE view more 

CREDIT: AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY

ATLANTA, July 20, 2023 – A new study from researchers at the American Cancer Society (ACS) found that Black cancer survivors in the United States experience a higher risk of dying from cardiovascular disease (CVD) compared with White cancer survivors. The research showed Black cancer survivors carry from 30% up to a three-fold higher mortality risk from CVD, depending on the type of cancer that was diagnosed. Differences in neighborhood socioeconomic status and health insurance between Black and White cancer survivors explained the disparities in cardiovascular death rates between populations, according to the study authors. The paper was published today in the International Journal of Epidemiology.

“These findings underscore the importance of neighborhood-level interventions and equitable access to care to mitigate the racial inequities in CVD mortality among cancer survivors,” said Dr. Hyuna Sung, lead author of the study and senior principal scientist of cancer surveillance research at the American Cancer Society. “We need to identify and support neighborhoods where targeted efforts for health promotion and cancer survivorship can have the greatest impact.”

Generally, all cancer survivors have an increased risk for cardiovascular disease because of the cardiotoxicities of cancer treatments and possible shared risk factors that impact cancer and cardiovascular disease. For this study, researchers examined population-based data from 17 different surveillance, epidemiology, and end result registries, including more than 900,000 cancer survivors of working age (20-64 years) in the U.S. Researchers analyzed data to see the impact of census tract-level neighborhood socioeconomic factors such as education level, percent working class, percent unemployment, median household income, median house value, median rent, and poverty level while also looking at clinical factors for differences in mortality.

The results showed among survivors surveyed, 10,701 CVD deaths occurred during 43 months of median follow-up. Black survivors were more likely than White survivors to die from CVD with the racial differences in relative terms across 18 cancer types, ranging from 1.3-fold for lung cancer to 4.0-fold for brain cancer. Results based on mediation analyses suggest that substantial proportions (25% to 64%) of the excess cardiovascular death among Black survivors of 14 cancer types are accounted for by racial differences in neighborhood socioeconomic status. For example, approximately 64% of the excess cardiovascular death among Black versus White lung cancer survivors was mediated by socioeconomic disparities in neighborhoods where Black and White cancer survivors reside. Racial disparities in health insurance status also appeared to be important contributing factors, explaining 12% to 31% of the excess cardiovascular death among Black versus White survivors.

While the study identified a link between neighborhood-level socioeconomic status and CVD mortality after a cancer diagnosis, it was not designed to determine which specific attributes captured with the neighborhood measure are most influential.

“Where you live shouldn’t determine if you live, but unfortunately that’s the reality for far too many people,” said Lisa A. Lacasse, president of the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, ACS’ advocacy affiliate. “Successfully fighting cancer depends on access to timely, high-quality, affordable health care coverage and treatment. This study underscores the importance of ensuring that everyone has equitable access to high-quality affordable health care, which includes expanding Medicaid in the 10 remaining states that have not done so. This would cover more than two million uninsured people who fall into Medicaid coverage gap – nearly 30% of whom are Black.”

“The findings have implications for clinical guidelines for evaluating cardiovascular risk and prognosis among individuals with a history of cancer,” added Sung. “Although it is well established that incorporating social determinants of health into screening and interventions for cardiovascular care significantly improves patient outcomes, current guidelines concerning cardiovascular health and risk management among cancer survivors mostly omit social determinants of health-informed approaches. These guidelines can be updated to incorporate social determinants of health-informed practices and to help providers identify and address their patient’s social needs.”

Other ACS authors participating in this study include: Noorie Hyun, Rachel E. Ohman, Eric H. Yang, Rebecca L. Siegel, and Dr. Ahmedin Jemal.

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About the American Cancer Society
The American Cancer Society is a leading cancer-fighting organization with a vision to end cancer as we know it, for everyone. For more than 100 years, we have been improving the lives of people with cancer and their families as the only organization combating cancer through advocacy, research, and patient support. We are committed to ensuring everyone has an opportunity to prevent, detect, treat, and survive cancer. To learn more, visit cancer.org or call our 24/7 helpline at 1-800-227-2345. Connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

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JOURNAL

International Journal of Epidemiology

Racial, ethnic disparities in receipt of lifesaving procedures for decompensated cirrhosis

JAMA Network Open

Peer-Reviewed Publication

JAMA NETWORK

About The Study: In this study of 717,000 admissions for decompensated cirrhosis, there were racial and ethnic disparities in receipt of complex lifesaving procedures and in mortality that persisted over time. 

Authors: Lauren D. Nephew, M.D., M.S.C.E., and Archita P. Desai, M.D., of the Indiana University School of Medicine in Indianapolis, are the corresponding authors. 

To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/ 

(doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.24539)

Editor’s Note: Please see the article for additional information, including other authors, author contributions and affiliations, conflict of interest and financial disclosures, and funding and support.

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http://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.24539?utm_source=For_The_Media&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=ftm_links&utm_term=072023

About JAMA Network Open: JAMA Network Open is an online-only open access general medical journal from the JAMA Network. On weekdays, the journal publishes peer-reviewed clinical research and commentary in more than 40 medical and health subject areas. Every article is free online from the day of publication.

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JOURNAL

JAMA Network Open

 

High body temperature increases resistance to pathogenic viral infections, new study finds

Peer-Reviewed Publication

THE INSTITUTE OF MEDICAL SCIENCE, THE UNIVERSITY OF TOKYO

 

IMAGE: "INFLUENZA VIRUS" BY NIAID view more 

CREDIT: MINAMI NAGAI, MIYU MORIYAMA, CHIHARU ISHII, HIROTAKE MORI, HIKARU WATANABE, TAKU NAKAHARA, TAKUJI YAMADA, DAI ISHIKAWA, TAKAMASA ISHIKAWA, AKIYOSHI HIRAYAMA, IKUO KIMURA, AKIHITO NAGAHARA, TOSHIO NAITO, SHINJI FUKUDA, TAKESHI ICHINOHE

Researchers from The University of Tokyo unravel the connection between high body temperature and increased viral resistance.

Clinical evidence suggests that elderly individuals are at a higher risk of contracting viral infections. Quite notably, the older people also have lower mean body temperatures. However, the effects of increased body temperature on fighting viral infections remain largely unexplored. A team of Japanese researchers has now been able to bridge the gap by linking higher body temperature with an increased infection-fighting capability of the gut microorganisms or "microbiota." Their study was published in Volume 14 Issue 3863 of Nature Communications in June 2023 and made available online on 30 June 2023.      

To conduct their experiments, the team used mice which were heat- or cold-exposed at 4°C, 22°C, or 36°C a week before influenza virus infection. After the viral infection was induced, the cold-exposed mice mostly died due to severe hypothermia, whereas the heat-exposed mice were highly resistant to the infection even at increasing doses of the virus. "High-heat-exposed mice raise their basal body temperature above 38°C, allowing them to produce more bile acids in a gut microbiota-dependent manner,” remarks Dr. Takeshi Ichinohe from the Division of Viral Infection, The University of Tokyo, Japan.

The authors speculated that signaling of deoxycholic acid (DCA) from the gut microbiota and its plasma membrane-bound receptor "Takeda G-protein-coupled receptor 5" (TGR5) increased host resistance to influenza virus infection by suppressing virus replication and neutrophil-dependent tissue damage.

While working on these experiments, the team noticed that mice infected with the influenza virus showed decreased body temperatures nearly four days after the onset of the infection, and they snuggled together to stay warm!

The team noticed similar results after switching the influenza virus with SARS-CoV-2 and the study results were also validated using a Syrian hamster model. Their experiments revealed that body temperature over 38°C could increase host resistance to influenza virus and SARS-CoV-2 infections. Moreover, they also found that such increase in body temperature catalyzed key gut microbial reactions, which in turn, led to the production of secondary bile acids. These acids can modulate immune responses and safeguard the host against viral infections.

Dr. Ichinohe explains, “The DCA and its nuclear farnesoid X receptor (FXR) agonist protect Syrian hamsters from lethal SARS-CoV-2 infection. Moreover, certain bile acids are reduced in the plasma of COVID-19 patients who develop moderate I/II disease compared with the minor severity of illness group.”

The team then performed extensive analysis to gain insight into the precise mechanisms underlying the gut-metabolite-mediated host resistance to viral infections in heat-exposed rodents. Besides, they also established the role of secondary bile acids and bile acid receptors in mitigating viral infections.   

 “Our finding that reduction of certain bile acids in the plasma of patients with moderate I/II COVID-19 may provide insight into the variability in clinical disease manifestation in humans and enable approaches for mitigating COVID-19 outcomes,” concludes Dr. Ichinohe.

To briefly summarize, the published study reveals that the high-body-temperature-dependent activation of gut microbiota boosts the serum and intestinal levels of bile acids. This suppresses virus replication and inflammatory responses that follow influenza and SARS-CoV-2 infections. 

A heartfelt appreciation to the Japanese researchers for placing their trust in their intuition and gut instincts!

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JOURNAL

Nature Communications

DOI

10.1038/s41467-023-39569-0 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Experimental study

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Animals

ARTICLE TITLE

High body temperature increases gut microbiota-dependent host resistance to influenza A virus and SARS-CoV-2 infection

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

30-Jun-2023

COI STATEMENT

T.N., T.Y., D.I., and S.F. are founders and T.N. and D.I. are board members of Metagen Therapeutics, Inc., a company involved in the microbiome-based medical and drug discovery. T.Y. and S.F. are founders and board members of Metagen, Inc., a microbiome-based healthcare company. The other authors declare no competing interests.

 

Hobbies and healthy habits surged during the pandemic

Rather than turn to vices such as alcohol and drugs, many people turned to new pursuits to cope with pandemic-related stresses, according to a Rutgers study.

Peer-Reviewed Publication

RUTGERS UNIVERSITY

Rather than turn to vices such as alcohol and drugs, many people turned to new pursuits to cope with pandemic-related stresses, according to a Rutgers study.

 

The study, published in the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence, paints a more nuanced picture of how Americans adjusted to stay-at-home orders over the course of the pandemic.

 

“Reporting more types of negative experiences across work, home and social domains was associated with reporting more positive types of pandemic experiences, such as increasing physical activity and exercise, spending more time outdoors or engaging in hobbies, having time to cook to improve diet and nutrition, and spending more time with family and friends (even if virtually),” the researchers wrote. This suggests that many individuals may have adapted to the negative pandemic impacts by adjusting behavioral lifestyle habits and engaging with social supporters.

 

To measure the effects of pandemic-related emotional, physical and economic stressors on substance use frequency, researchers at the Rutgers Center of Alcohol and Substance Use Studies examined data from the Caltech’s COVID-Dynamic project.   

 

As part of the COVID-Dynamic survey, participants were asked a series of questions about pandemic-related experiences, including physical and emotional health, employment, finances and family. They also were asked about their monthly substance use and whether the pandemic had any positive effects on their lives – such as increases in exercise or more attention to diet.

 

By examining data from two waves of the COVID-Dynamic project (July 2020 and January 2021), Rutgers researchers, working with colleagues from three other institutions at Kaiser Permanente and the City College of New York, determined how substance use was linked to pandemic-related experiences.

 

For instance, people reporting social and emotional impacts from the pandemic were more likely to use alcohol, while those reporting economic hardship were less likely to drink.

 

By contrast, nicotine use was higher among those reporting economic impacts and lower for people reporting significant social impact. Cannabis use was positively associated with emotional hardship.

 

Perhaps the most surprising finding was the dearth of substance use among the study participants, the researchers said.

 

“Overall, the amount of substance use in this sample was relatively low,” said Denise Hien, Director of the Center of Alcohol and Substance Use Studies, a distinguished professor in the Rutgers Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology (GSAPP), and coauthor of the study.

 

“We often think in terms of collective trauma, but this sample upends the idea that the pandemic was universally impactful,” said Alexandria Bauer, an assistant research professor and a coauthor of the study. Particularly for a normative population, “the data show there’s a lot of nuances in how people experience these kind of mass events.”

 

“While some data has shown that the use of drugs and alcohol increased during the COVID-19 pandemic, we found that many also coped during its darkest days by doing healthy activities like cooking, reading and gardening,” said Margaret Swarbrick, associate director and professor, Center of Alcohol and Substance Use Studies in the Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology. “Engagement in health habits and hobbies appeared to increase to cope with the negative impacts of the pandemic, demonstrating that many were resilient.”

 

"This study demonstrates GSAPP’s ongoing commitment to conducting relevant, cutting-edge research for the common good,” Arpana G. Inman, Dean and Distinguished Professor, Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology.

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JOURNAL

Drug and Alcohol Dependence

DOI

10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2023.109929 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Data/statistical analysis

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

People

ARTICLE TITLE

Alcohol, cannabis, and nicotine use have distinct associations with COVID-19 pandemic-related experiences: An exploratory Bayesian network analysis across two timepoints

 

Researchers generate human embryo-like structures that include extraembryonic tissue

Peer-Reviewed Publication

CELL PRESS

 

VIDEO: PERI-GASTRULOID WITH AN EMBRYONIC DISC-LIKE STRUCTURE CREDIT CELL LIU ET AL. view more 

CREDIT: CELL LIU ET AL.

Gastrulation, the process where an embryo reorganizes itself from a hollow sphere into a multilayered structure, is considered a “black box” of human development. This is because human embryos are typically not cultured for longer than 14 days because of bioethical concerns, and gastrulation occurs between 17- and 21-days post-fertilization. In addition, current stem cell models that mimic gastrulation have not been able to include the necessary extraembryonic tissues that give rise to the yolk sac and the placenta. In a study appearing on July 20 in the journal Cell, researchers report a new method to develop “peri-gastruloids,” an embryo-like structure that includes one of the supporting tissues, the yolk sac, missing from previous models.

“While non-integrated models of human gastrulation and early organogenesis have been developed from primed human pluripotent stem cells, these models lack the extraembryonic cells that play vital roles in embryo patterning and morphogenesis,” says senior author Jun Wu, a stem cell biologist at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. “The presence of both embryonic and extraembryonic tissues enables researchers to examine the interactions between the epiblast, amnion, and yolk sac during gastrulation—an endeavor previously unattainable in humans.”

Instead of the more commonly used primed pluripotent stem cells, the researchers’ method used expanded pluripotent stem cells (EPSCs). These cells have previously been shown to differentiate into both embryonic and extraembryonic tissue in mice. By adding the proper growth factors to human EPSCs, they differentiated into these two types of tissues. The cells then self-organized into structures that resembled the human embryo, which the researchers refer to as “peri-gastruloids.”

Extraembryonic tissues release chemical signals that guide embryo development, which allows these peri-gastruloids to mimic several important processes that are considered part of this black-box period of development. Peri-gastruloids develop the amniotic cavity that embryos live inside, and the yolk sac cavities that provide the embryos with blood supply. In addition, peri-gastruloids show early signs of organogenesis, such as neurulation, which marks the very beginning of central nervous system development.

The research team reports that their method is efficient and reproducible. In what they consider a small-scale trial, they were able to generate hundreds of peri-gastruloids. “The power of this model stems from its ability to exploit the remarkable self-organizing capacity of human EPSCs with minimal external intervention” says Wu. 

The team notes that peri-gastruloids are not viable because of the exclusion of trophoblasts that give rise to the placenta, which helps assuage the ethical concerns of this research. This project followed international stem cell research guidelines and was approved by UT Southwestern’s Stem Cell Oversight Committee.

Time-lapse showing cell migrat [VIDEO] | 

3D Rendering of a Peri-Gastrul [VIDEO] | 

This work was supported by the New York Stem Cell Foundation and the American Society for Reproductive Medicine Research Institute. More information about conflicts of interests can be found in the paper.

Cell, Liu et al. “Modeling post-implantation stages of human development into early organogenesis with stem cell-derived peri-gastruloids” https://cell.com/cell/fulltext/S0092-8674(23)00794-8

Cell (@CellCellPress), the flagship journal of Cell Press, is a bimonthly journal that publishes findings of unusual significance in any area of experimental biology, including but not limited to cell biology, molecular biology, neuroscience, immunology, virology and microbiology, cancer, human genetics, systems biology, signaling, and disease mechanisms and therapeutics. Visit: http://www.cell.com/cell. To receive Cell Press media alerts, contact press@cell.com.

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JOURNAL

Cell

DOI

10.1016/j.cell.2023.07.018 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Experimental study

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Cells

ARTICLE TITLE

Modeling post-implantation stages of human development into early organogenesis with stem cell-derived peri-gastruloids

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

20-Jul-2023

 

Scientific breakthrough harnesses mRNA technology to develop powerful malaria vaccine

A new mRNA vaccine targeting immune cells in the liver could be the key to tackling malaria, a disease that causes over half a million deaths each year according to the World Health Organization, yet has no effective long-lasting vaccine.

Peer-Reviewed Publication

THE PETER DOHERTY INSTITUTE FOR INFECTION AND IMMUNITY

 

IMAGE: SCIENTIST USING INSTRUMENTS WEARING PPE IN LABORATORY (© DOHERTY INSTITUTE) view more 

CREDIT: © DOHERTY INSTITUTE

Trans-Tasman research collaborators from Te Herenga Waka— Victoria University of Wellington’s Ferrier Research Institute and the Malaghan Institute of Medical Research in New Zealand, and the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity in Australia have developed an mRNA-based vaccine that can effectively target and stimulate protective immune cell responses against the malaria-causing parasite Plasmodium in preclinical models.

Ferrier Research Institute’s Professor Gavin Painter says the approach is distinctive, as the team leveraged years of prior research from the University of Melbourne’s Professor Bill Heath at the Doherty Institute and Professor Ian Hermans from the Malaghan Institute.

“Thanks to this synergy, we were able to design and validate an example of an mRNA vaccine that works by generating resident memory cells in the liver in a malaria model,” says Prof Painter.

“It demonstrates the huge potential of RNA technology in solving some of the world’s biggest health problems and the growing capability and expertise in mRNA vaccine development here in New Zealand and Australia.”

The focus of the collaborative research investigating a novel target for malaria was originally on peptide-based vaccines. However, in 2018, the team shifted their approach and started investigating RNA-based vaccines – a decision that, so far, seems to have paid off with the recent success of RNA technology in vaccine development.

“While our successful peptide-based vaccines targeting malaria only contain small protein fragments of a malaria protein, mRNA vaccines encode an entire malaria protein,” says the University of Melbourne’s Dr Lauren Holz, Research Officer at the Doherty Institute and co-author of the paper.

“This is a real strength because it means we can generate a broader and hopefully more protective immune response.”

To pack an extra protective punch, the mRNA vaccine has been combined with an adjuvant – originally developed at the Malaghan and Ferrier Institutes for cancer immunotherapies – which targets and stimulates liver-specific immune cells. This additional ingredient helps localise the RNA vaccine response to the liver, a key site in preventing the parasite from developing and maturing in the body.

“When the parasite first enters the bloodstream, it travels to the liver where it develops and matures before going on to infect blood cells, which is when disease symptoms occur,” says Dr Mitch Ganley, Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Ferrier Research Institute, and co-author of the study.

“Unlike the COVID-19 vaccine that works by neutralising antibodies, our unique approach relies on T-cells which play a critical role in immunity. Specifically, a type of T-cell called a tissue-resident memory T-cell, that halts malaria infection in the liver to completely stop the spread of infection.”

Dr Holz says the key advantage of this vaccine is that it isn’t affected by previous exposure to malaria.

“A lot of malaria vaccines undergoing trials have worked really well in animal models or when they’re given to people who haven’t had malaria before, but they don’t work well when given to people living in malaria-endemic regions. In contrast, our vaccine is still capable of generating protective liver-specific immune cells and providing protection even when the animal models have been pre-exposed to the disease,” says Dr Holz.

The research team is now working towards taking the vaccine into human clinical trials, which they expect to take several years.

This research was published in Nature Immunology (DOI: 10.1038/s41590-023-01562-6).

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BACKGROUND

About the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity

Finding solutions to prevent, treat and cure infectious diseases and understanding the complexities of the immune system requires innovative approaches and concentrated effort. This is why The University of Melbourne – a world leader in education, teaching and research excellence – and The Royal Melbourne Hospital – an internationally renowned institution providing outstanding care, treatment and medical research – have partnered to create the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity (Doherty Institute); a centre of excellence where leading scientists and clinicians collaborate to improve human health globally. doherty.edu.au

About the Malaghan Institute of Medical Research

The Malaghan Institute is New Zealand’s world-class independent biomedical research institute with a focus on breakthrough discoveries in immunology and immunotherapy. Based in Wellington, New Zealand, their cutting-edge research and clinical trials are advancing understanding of the immune system and its relationship to human health. Their key areas of research are cancer, infectious disease, allergic and inflammatory diseases and immune health. malaghan.org.nz

About the Ferrier Research Institute 

The Ferrier Research Institute was formed in January 2014 when it joined Te Herenga Waka – Victoria University of Wellingon. The Institute is team of organic chemists, biochemists, and analysts carrying out fundamental, applied and commercial research together with student supervision. They tackle a broad range of applied chemistry problems related to issues including our health and wellbeing and the sustainability of our environment. Ferrier Research scientists have deep experience in synthetic carbohydrate and medicinal chemistry, synthetic and chemical biology, plant natural products and polysaccharide analysis. wgtn.ac.nz/ferrier

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MEDIA ENQUIRIES

Aline Riche | Senior Media and Communications Officer, Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity | Doherty-media@unimelb.edu.au | +61 (0) 3 8344 1911

Hamish Cameron | Senior Science Communicator | Malaghan Institute of Medical Research | hcameron@malaghan.org.nz | +64 (0) 21 242 2835

Elizabeth Cherry | Senior Engagement Adviser, Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington | elizabeth.cherry@vuw.ac.nz | +64 (0) 22 011 6391

SOCIAL MEDIA

Doherty Institute | Twitter @TheDohertyInst | Instagram @dohertyinstitute | LinkedIn @the-peter-doherty-institute-for-infection-and-immunity | Facebook @DohertyInstitute

Malaghan Institute | Twitter @Malaghan_Inst | Instagram @malaghan_institute | LinkedIn Malaghan-institute-of-medical-research | Facebook @MalaghanInsitute

Ferrier Institute | Twitter @Ferrier_Inst | LinkedIn @ferrier-research-institute

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JOURNAL

Nature Immunology

DOI

10.1038/s41590-023-01562-6 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Experimental study

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Animals

ARTICLE TITLE

mRNA vaccine against malaria tailored for liver-resident memory T cells

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

20-Jul-2023

 

The present and future of computing get a boost from new research

Peer-Reviewed Publication

UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN

The world's computing needs have grown exponentially in recent years due to an explosion of technology. To meet the needs for the next technological leap, the scientific community is working to improve current processing capabilities and simultaneously develop entirely new computing methods.

Two new papers from the research group of Jean Anne Incorvia, a professor in the Cockrell School of Engineering’s Chandra Family of Electrical and Computer Engineering, aim to contribute to both of these scientific needs. Together, they offer improvements on current semiconductor technology as well as a nimbler building block to the next generation of computers that think like the human brain.

"We are on the precipice of a new class of computers, and recreating how our brains think is a tremendous research undertaking," said Incorvia. "At the same time, computing techniques we use today aren't going anywhere, so it's important to continue to improve and innovate on the devices that power our current technology."

Logic Problem

New research published in ACS Nano relates to transistors and circuits. Within chips are components called logic gates that interpret digital signals.

These logic gates are transistors that can generally conduct either electrons or holes – which occur when electrons move around within atoms – but not both. In this paper, the researchers linked logic gates together that could conduct both electrons and holes.

They show that this achievement reduces the number of transistors needed in a circuit. And that means more transistors could be packed in to the same space, making it both more efficient and powerful, or the saved space could be used to shrink down the device. They also demonstrate a new circuit that specifically leverages the transistor behavior.

The transistors are made out of ultra-thin two-dimensional materials, which have this naturally "ambi-polar" property that allow them to conduct both holes and electrons. However, they didn't do a great job of it on their own. Refining that capability is a major component of this paper, and through their device engineering they show important XOR, NOR, and NAND circuits without needing any other devices but the ambi-polar transistors. These circuits are the basic building blocks of larger circuits.

"When we think about the future of computing, if we can harness the natural behavior of these 2D materials and scale them, we could cut the number of transistors we need in our circuits in half," Incorvia said.

The researchers showed this capability at a fairly large device size. Their next steps include shrinking the devices down and further reducing the power consumption needed to make them commercially viable chip components.

Noisy Neurons

These findings apply to current computing technology. A second paper published recently in Applied Physics Letters looks at the next generation of computers, those that think more like the human brain.

These neuromorphic devices are better than traditional computers at AI tasks like interpreting images and language processing. In this new paper, the researchers created a new type of artificial neuron – which in the human brain are responsible for sending information between brain cells – using magnetic materials.

Artificial neurons represent a popular area of neuromorphic computing research. What makes these neuron devices stand out is the chaotic nature of their reactions to electric pulses.

They outperformed other artificial neurons as part of neural networks in interpreting images, specifically when the data to be interpreted was noisy. The devices fared better than other artificial neurons in identifying images of blurry shoes, and the gap widened as the blurrier the images became.

"Because the device itself is stochastic in its respond to the input data, it performed better dealing with noisy data sets," Incorvia said.

These neurons could be impactful for "edge computing" uses, where devices need to be smaller, use less power and are far removed from a central computing source like a cloud server. They are also resistant to radiation.

One of the initial applications of this technology could come in outer space, where silicon chips struggle to stand up to the high level of radiation. The ability to deal with radiation as well as messy data could make these neurons ideal for future space-based technology.

Incorvia worked with fellow electrical and computer engineering faculty member Deji Akinwande and Joseph Friedman, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering at The University of Texas at Dallas on the ACS Nano research, which was funded by grants from National Science Foundation and U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory. The rest of the project team includes: Xintong Li and Ethan Rivers from the Chandra Family Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering; Peng Zhou and Xuan Hu from UT Dallas' Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering; and Kenji Watanable and Takashi Taniguchi from the Research Center for Electronic and Optical Materials at the National Institute of Materials Science in Japan.

The Applied Physics Letters research was funded by grants from the National Science Foundation. Incorvia's team on that project is Thomas Leonard, Samuel Liu and Harrison Jin, all from electrical and computer engineering.

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JOURNAL

ACS Nano

DOI

10.1021/acsnano.3c03932 

Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! a