COSMOS MAGAZINE

Lab-grown chicken nuggets, coming  right up...

Lab-grown meat has been hailed as a future food solution since the first artificial burger in 2013, but it's still a pricey novelty with technical hurdles, especially when it comes to replicating thick, structured cuts like steak or chicken breast.

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University of Tokyo researchers created a “hollow-fibre bioreactor” that grows over 10g  of whole-cut chicken muscle.

Cast Iron Pan

A piece of chicken meat on the hollow-fibre bioreactor. Credit: Shoji Takeuchi, The University of Tokyo

The device uses tiny fibres, like blood vessels, to deliver nutrients and form dense, structured tissue.

Chicken produced with 1125-fiber bioreactor. Credit: Shoji Takeuchi, The University of Tokyo

Though not ready for the market yet, the tech could also impact medicine and robotics.

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Meanwhile, lab-grown quail might hit restaurant menus soon in Australia and New Zealand.

Credit: Getty