Australian_Science_Illustrated_Issue_52_2017

STEM CELL MEAT

I

n a small office three floors above the

lobby of the busy Maastricht

University Medical Centre, the world’s

leading scientist specialising in stem

cell meat is eating his lunch pack. The

modest surroundings do not produce the

impression that this man is the founding

father of a brand new category of meat,

which could revolutionise the food industry

and ensure the future protein supply of the

world. Even the lunch pack is remarkably

uninspiring: two slices of toast bread with a

slice of cheese in between.

Science Illustrated has gone to the

Netherlands to visit Professor Mark Post, who

heads Maastricht University's Department of

Physiology and is the man behind the world’s

Scientists "brew"

burgers in culture dishes

Scientists can use a needle to take a tissue sample from a cow

and make one single muscle stem cell grow into a burger.

In theory, one tissue sample could turn into 10 tonnes of meat.

1

A small

tissue

sample is

taken from a living

cow. The sample is 1

cm long and has a 1

mm diameter. It

includes hundreds of

muscle stem cells.

2

The muscle tissue

is made of two

components: fat

and muscle cells. The two

components are separated.

3

Individual muscle cells are

divided, allowing individual

stem cells to be extracted. The

cells are placed in a fluid with nutrients.

In the Dutch lab, scientists are testing small

versions of the bioreactors, which will soon

"brew" enough meat for 10,000 people annually.

MUSCLE FIBRE

TISSUE SAMPLE

FAT CELL

STEM CELLS

STEM CELL

MUSCLE CELLS^4

The muscle stem cell

divides in two, etc.

Scientists require 30

billion muscle stem cells to

make one single burger.

first stem cell burger, which was cooked and

consumed in front of the world press in 2013.

Since then, only 15 people have had the

pleasure of tasting a piece of stem cell meat

from Mark Post’s lab, but that will probably

very soon change. Right now, the professor is

working on removing his stems cells from

small culture dishes, converting cell cultures

into meat in huge bioreactors of up to 25,000

litres instead.

STEM CELL MEAT COULD SAVE US

Stem cells are undifferentiated cells, i.e. they

have the potential to develop into all types of

cells in the body, such as nerve cells, skin

cells, or bone cells. Generally, they can be

divided into two types: embryonic stem

HENNING DALHOFF

MARTIN BERNTH/ILLUSTRERET VIDENSKAB

scienceillustrated.com.au | 45