3d printing
Using ultrasound-guided 3D printing in tissues
Researchers at Harvard and Duke have created a 3D printer that uses ultrasound to print biomaterials inside an organ. They were able to print a bone-shaped structure through 10 millimeters of pig skin and muscle to simulate bone reconstruction. They also demonstrated a way to potentially treat atrial fibrillation, by printing a patch on the left atrial appendage of an ex vivo pig heart.
The machine has a focused ultrasound transducer, which uses sound waves to travel through tissue to create intricate structures. It uses an "ink cocktail" that can contain a "concoction of polymers, particles, and chemical initiators," one of the researchers told STAT. The components vary depending on whether they're meant to turn into bone-like or tissue-like structures.
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vaccines
Gavi commits $1 billion to manufacture vaccines in Africa
Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, has set up a new accelerator to help fund vaccine manufacturing in Africa — allocating up to $1 billion to improve access to important vaccines. The initiative is a response to the glaring gap in access to vaccines that became apparent during the Covid-19 pandemic. It'll help boost domestic production of shots to treat diseases like cholera and malaria, which kill hundreds of thousands of African children each year, Reuters writes.
The African Union aims to have the African vaccine manufacturing industry supply more than 60% of vaccines needed on the continent by 2040. Right now, only about 1% of the vaccines are made there now.
The funding comes from leftover money from the COVAX initiative, an effort created during the pandemic to help disseminate vaccines in low-income countries.
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