{"id":18943,"date":"2025-04-18T20:57:12","date_gmt":"2025-04-19T01:57:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/chicago\/?p=18943"},"modified":"2025-04-18T20:57:12","modified_gmt":"2025-04-19T01:57:12","slug":"scientists-create-worlds-largest-lab-grown-chicken-nugget","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/chicago\/2025\/04\/18\/scientists-create-worlds-largest-lab-grown-chicken-nugget\/","title":{"rendered":"Scientists Create World&#8217;s Largest Lab-Grown Chicken Nugget"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>Introduction to Lab-Grown Meat<\/h2>\n<p>Scientists have grown a nugget-sized piece of chicken using a new method that can deliver nutrients and oxygen to artificial tissues, marking a major breakthrough in cultured meat.<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<h2>Challenges in Lab-Grown Meat Production<\/h2>\n<p>While labs have been producing lifelike tissues for more than a decade, previous methods only made small, scattered cell balls less than 1 millimeter thick, or about 0.04 inches. It was a challenge to hold the cell groupings together in a way that more closely mimicked the texture of muscle, and the current generation of lab-grown meats are often tiny pieces clumped together around an edible scaffolding.<\/p>\n<h2>Breakthrough in Lab-Grown Chicken<\/h2>\n<p>However, a team of researchers in Japan have achieved new lengths, growing a single, square piece of chicken 2.7 inches (7 centimeters) wide and 0.7 inches (2 centimeters) thick with a new lab tool, according to a paper published Wednesday in the journal Trends in Biotechnology. Weighing in at about a third of an ounce, the artificial chicken muscle is a small bite, but is believed to be the world\u2019s largest chunk of lab-grown meat.<\/p>\n<h2>The Bioreactor Technology<\/h2>\n<p>The scientists developed a bioreactor that mimicked a circulatory system, using 50 hollow fibers acting like veins to distribute nutrients and oxygen to the meat, keeping cells alive and guiding them to grow in the specified directions.<\/p>\n<h2>Video: Lab-Grown Meat Production<\/h2>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/news\/embedded-video\/mmvo210161733809\" width=\"100%\" height=\"100%\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"yes\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h2>Future of Lab-Grown Meat<\/h2>\n<p>The bioreactor delivered nutrients and oxygen through the tissue using tiny, precision-laid hollow fibers, using a method that, for the first time, could sustain growth across relatively long cellular distances. This piece of chicken was not made using food-grade materials, and the scientists have not tasted it.<\/p>\n<h2>Quotes from the Researchers<\/h2>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s exciting to discover that these tiny fibers can also effectively help create artificial tissues,\u201d Shoji Takeuchi, a co-author of the study and a professor at the University of Tokyo in Japan, said in a statement. Hollow fibers had previously been used in household water filters and dialysis machines for patients with kidney disease.<\/p>\n<h2>Potential Applications<\/h2>\n<p>The new approach, he said, could be a scalable way to produce whole-cut cultured meat, adding that it could yield advancements not just in food production, but also regenerative medicine, drug testing and biohybrid robotics.<\/p>\n<h2>Challenges Ahead<\/h2>\n<p>The new technology could accelerate the commercial viability of cultured meat, but there are further challenges ahead. Replicating the texture and taste of whole-cut meat remains \u201cdifficult,\u201d Takeuchi said, adding that larger pieces will also require better oxygen delivery.<\/p>\n<h2>Consumer Acceptance<\/h2>\n<p>Consumers in the United States have mixed attitudes toward cultured meat. About a third say they are not willing to try cultivated chicken, and 40% reject cultivated pork, according to a 2024 poll conducted by Purdue University in Indiana.<\/p>\n<h2>Current Market Status<\/h2>\n<p>Currently, there is little cultured meat in the market, but they can be legally sold to consumers in three countries: Singapore, the U.S. and Israel. Only two California companies are authorized to sell cultured meat in the U.S., while Florida and Alabama have banned its sales.<\/p>\n<h2>Conclusion<\/h2>\n<p>The development of lab-grown meat is a significant breakthrough in the field of cultured meat production. While there are still challenges to overcome, the potential benefits of this technology are substantial. With further research and development, lab-grown meat could become a viable alternative to traditional meat production, offering a more sustainable and environmentally friendly option for consumers.<\/p>\n<h2>FAQs<\/h2>\n<ol>\n<li>What is lab-grown meat?<br \/>\nLab-grown meat, also known as cultured meat, is a type of meat that is produced by growing animal cells in a laboratory rather than raising and slaughtering animals.<\/li>\n<li>How is lab-grown meat produced?<br \/>\nLab-grown meat is produced using a bioreactor that mimics a circulatory system, using hollow fibers to distribute nutrients and oxygen to the meat.<\/li>\n<li>What are the potential benefits of lab-grown meat?<br \/>\nThe potential benefits of lab-grown meat include reduced environmental impact, improved food safety, and increased efficiency of production.<\/li>\n<li>Is lab-grown meat available for consumption?<br \/>\nYes, lab-grown meat is available for consumption in three countries: Singapore, the U.S. and Israel.<\/li>\n<li>What are the challenges facing the lab-grown meat industry?<br \/>\nThe challenges facing the lab-grown meat industry include replicating the texture and taste of whole-cut meat, improving oxygen delivery, and gaining consumer acceptance.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Introduction to Lab-Grown Meat Scientists have grown a nugget-sized piece of chicken using a new method that can deliver nutrients and oxygen to artificial tissues, marking a major breakthrough in cultured meat. Challenges in Lab-Grown Meat Production While labs have been producing lifelike tissues for more than a decade, previous methods only made small, scattered [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":18944,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rank_math_lock_modified_date":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-18943","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-dining"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/media.nbcchicago.com\/2025\/04\/CHICKEN-NUGGET.jpg?quality=85&strip=all&resize=1200%2C675&w=1200&resize=1200,675&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18943"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18943"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18943\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18945,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18943\/revisions\/18945"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18944"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18943"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18943"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18943"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}