Cultivated Beef Study Grows Muscle, Nerves and Blood Vessels From a Single Cell Source in 15 Days

Researchers at EMBL Barcelona have developed a method to grow bovine tissue containing muscle fibres, neurons, and blood vessel networks from a single population of embryonic stem cells. This innovative approach skips the usual steps of separate cell preparation and assembly, allowing for a more complex mix of cells found in real cuts of meat to be recreated in just 15 days.

However, this method is still a proof of concept and not yet ready for large-scale production. Cost is a barrier, with the price of one small tissue aggregate ranging from €0.39 to €0.99, mainly driven by the cost of growth factors and reagents. The use of Matrigel, a material derived from mice, needs to be replaced with an animal-free alternative before any food use can be considered. Despite these challenges, the research adds to the growing interest in pluripotent cells for structured cultivated meat and shows promise for the future of lab-grown meat production.