Scientists have developed a tool made from a modified glue gun that can 3D print bone grafts directly onto fractures and defects during surgery. The tool, described September 5th in the Cell Press journal Device, allows scientists to quickly create complex bone implants without the need for prefabricating in advance. What’s more, the team optimized the 3D-printed grafts for high structural flexibility, release of anti-inflammatory antibiotics, and promotion of natural bone regrowth at the grafting site.

Genetically engineered cell lines used in biomedical research have long been prone to misidentification and unauthorized use, wasting billions of dollars each year and jeopardizing critical scientific discoveries. These problems not only undermine reproducibility of research results, but also put valuable intellectual property at risk.

Now, researchers at The University of Texas at Dallas have developed a novel method to embed unique genetic identifiers in engineered cell lines, eliminating identification errors and safeguarding innovations with tamper-proof genomic tags.