LEGO-inspired research gives lab-grown meat more realistic texture

culturedbeef
Image: CulturedBeef.net

A group of food scientists who are working to create lab-grown meat have found inspiration in an unlikely source:ย LEGOs. According toย Food & Wine, researchers from Pennsylvania State University and the University of Alabama used LEGO components to create a device capable of improving the texture of the meat they were cultivating.

Lab-grown meat is still very much in the development stages, and scientists are working on ways to improve the texture. Because cultured muscle cells donโ€™t have any particular structure when they grow, the meat generally comes out resembling ground beef. Thatโ€™s fine if youโ€™re hoping to make more humane tacos, but it presents a challenge when trying to create, say, a lab-grown steak.

This is where the toy bricks came in. Researchers used LEGOย Power Functions to create an electrospinning device that was capable of turning starch fibers into a structured meat โ€œscaffold.โ€

Read full, original article: Scientists Built a LEGO ‘Electrospinner’ to Improve the Texture of Lab-Grown Meat

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