Australian_Science_Illustrated_Issue_52_2017

46 | SCIENCE ILLUSTRATED

cells, which only exist in very young

embryos, and adult stem cells, which exist in

all tissue throughout life. Adult stem cells are

ready to replace dead cells in the body, but

unlike embryonic stem cells, they can only

develop into cell types that already exist in

the tissue in which they live. Adult stem cells

in muscle tissue will always produce muscle

cells and so, they are ideal for Mark Post’s

growth process. Stem cells can divide almost

indefinitely – in theory, one stem cell could

become one quintillion muscle cells or 10

tonnes of meat.

Mark Post has obviously explained the

problem of beef cattle many times before:

“Conventional meat production causes so

much pollution that a vegetarian in a large,

petrol-guzzling SUV is actually better for the

environment than a meat eater on a bicycle.

And there will be many more meat eaters in

the future, so if we do not develop new

alternatives now, we will soon have major

problems,” Mark Post says.

The environmental advantages of stem

cells are obvious. According to a study by the

University of Oxford, the production of lab-

grown meat emits 96 % less greenhouse gas,

takes up 99 % less land, and requires up to 45

% less energy than beef cattle breeding.

FROM ABATTOIRS TO "BREWERIES"

“Imagine a brewery. Large tanks with the

volume of half an Olympic swimming pool,”

Mark Post explains his vision of the future

production of stem cell meat. He shows me a

small, 1.5 l container with something that

looks like a miniature ship's propeller at the

bottom. The container is a prototype of a

5

A process known

as myogenesis

begins, by which

all the individual cells

collect in myotubes, which

are about 0.3 mm long.

6

To produce muscle fibres, the myotubes

are placed in a ring shape around a gel

cylinder, where the tubes join. The myotubes

are a type of muscle fibre prototypes with an integral

inclination to contract. The exercise makes them grow

bigger, developing into complete muscle fibres.

7

The fibres can now be mixed into a complete

burger. About 20,000 muscle fibres are required

for one burger. More than one quintillion fibres

can be produced from one tissue sample.

In the lab, the stem cells are placed in a

nutrient-rich fluid, in which they divide billions of

times, eventually turning into a burger.

In 2013, Dutch scientist

Mark Post introduced the

world’s first burger, which

had been grown in a lab.

MUSCLE FIBRE

MYOTUBES

MARTIN BERNTH/ILLUSTRERET VIDENSKAB

HENNING DALHOFF

TECHNOLOGY FOOD