YSM Issue 96.3

NEWS
Physics / Medicine
TOO STRANGE
TO BE TRUE?
A RACE AGAINST
RESISTANCE
THE CHOREOGRAPHY OF
STRANGE METALS
PROMISING NEW DRUG TO
COMBAT RESISTANT HIV
BY PROUD UA-ARAK
BY SOFIA ARBELAEZ
IMAGE COURTESY OF MARTIN DE ARRIBA
IMAGE COURTESY OF KAROLINA GRABOWSKA
The concept of electrons may have first been
introduced in our chemistry classes with neat, easyto-follow
Bohr models. But what happens when they
don’t act the way scientists anticipate? Graduate student
Kirsty Scott and Professor Eduardo H. da Silva Neto from
the Yale Department of Physics set out to discover the
nature of these so-called “strange metals.”
According to basic quantum mechanics, an electron can
be described as a quantum mechanical wave. “But in the
strange metal phase, the wave description seems to not be
applicable, which leaves us in a position where even the
most advanced theories don’t seem able to explain what’s
going on,” da Silva Neto said.
The researchers were determined to uncover what
happens at the electron level within these metals. Using
a method called resonant inelastic X-ray scattering, they
found a ‘quasi-circular’ pattern in the way electrons scatter
at low energies. This means that when an electron changes
direction while moving, it is free to change to any direction.
‘Quasi-circular’ patterns have typically been assumed to be
necessary for strange metals, but have not, until now, been
directly measured.
Matter matters. Scott, the leader of this study, believes that
knowledge of the materials we use shapes our technology
and therefore the society around us, as evidenced by
historical periods like the “Stone Age” and the “Bronze
Age” being defined by the materials of their time. Scott
is enthusiastic about being part of a scientific endeavor
where the study of novel material behaviors could usher in
society’s next epoch. ■
Yale physician Onyema Ogbuagu has been involved in
clinical trials for HIV for more than a decade. Trained
as a medical student in Nigeria during the peak of
the HIV epidemic there, Ogbuagu has seen HIV treatment
evolve considerably over the course of his career. “At the time
[I was trained], reversing immune deficiency was a dream,”
Ogbuagu said. Nowadays, directly managing HIV is a real
option. However, multidrug resistance and therapeutic regimen
complexity remain important barriers to treatment.
Ogbuagu published a landmark phase-three clinical trial testing
the effectiveness of Lenacapavir, a recently FDA-approved HIV
treatment. Administered as a biannual injection, Lenacapavir is
the longest-acting antiviral agent that has been approved for HIV
treatment. As an antiretroviral therapy, Lenacapavir interrupts
viral replication of HIV in the body, slowing the progression of
the disease, improving immune function, and reducing the risk
of HIV transmission. The treatment is of particular interest for
patients demonstrating multidrug resistance.
Lenacapavir contributed to a virologic suppression rate of over
eighty percent, much higher than the average virologic suppression
rates observed in other multidrug-resistant trials. “[The trial]
holds promise that we’re able to reach certain people that wouldn’t
be successfully treated with [other] regimens,” Ogbuagu said.
As this medication is being tested to treat HIV, Ogbuagu
is also hopeful that HIV treatment options may evolve into a
wide range of different methods and frequencies of delivery.
“People could have the luxury of choosing a method that’s
effective and that fits their lifestyle and their preferences,” he
said. Ogbuagu’s study certainly brings his hopes of creating
simpler, more effective therapeutic regimens to improve
quality of life closer to reality. ■
6 Yale Scientific Magazine September 2023 www.yalescientific.org