Along with scientists, "artificial meat eating"

Scientists in the lab-made pork production objectives more almost step by scientists, "artificial meat eating"

New Beijing cartographic/Zhao bin3

Beijing News weekly of the new knowledge

For many people, "artificial meat" may be the future of the PHS roaming "science fiction works of fantasy.

However, this illusion will likely become a reality. Recently, the Netherlands, scientists announced that they in the lab culture "artificial pork", and in the past, scientists develop "artificial meat", these pork already had some meat fiber, although still not quite like pork, but is a bit like a clam meat.

1 manufacturing principles

Stem cells produce meat

Netherlands a public fund in support of the joint enterprise "test tube meat Consortium" (IMC) from 2006 is already in the lab culture pork.

Their method is from pig muscle cells in the extraction of stem cells, and then put it in the nutrient-rich "soup", help these cells divide, copy the number you want. "If we had from a pig down 1 stem cells, and then in the factory to develop into one million cells, we can rarely killed many pigs. " Participation" artificial meat "project of Netherlands Maastricht University biologist Richard Baxter (MarkPost) said.

Stem cells (stem cells, SC) is a self-replicating ability of many potential cell, under certain conditions, it can be divided into several functional cells.

Animal body muscle stem cells can differentiate into muscle cells hypoplasia (myoblasts), the latter may be more integration between muscle fibers, formed the nucleus of the most basic structure of the skeletal muscles. Now the dish in the muscle stem cell technology has a very mature.

Netherlands scientists the ultimate goal is to create in the laboratory can eat pork, eventually in the factory to produce it.

We can put these meat is called "artificial meat". Previously invented a variety of meat alternatives, such as "vegetarian food" and "crab sticks" and so on, in meat is to do with plant protein, and crab stick broke the fish, and then add the starch to make things. They say you can meet the needs of human proteins, but the threat of natural meat was minimal. Here the "artificial meat" is the real meat, if successfully developed, might largely replace the natural meat.

2 technical difficulties

Organizational structure is not good to engage in

In the laboratory production of pork sounds easy, but it is not so easy.

To illustrate this problem, have to first know the "meat" is. United States Purdue University Biology Department of agricultural and food engineering professionals, said Dr. cloud Centerless narrow "meat" means animals of the muscle tissue, generalized "meat" means animals of the edible part. The "artificial meat" is the "meat" in the narrow sense, which mainly consists of water, protein, fat, carbohydrate and some minerals, vitamins and trace elements. Various meat tastes vary greatly, depending on its composition and structure of proteins. Affect the taste of a number of factors, "meat" of the source is free of amino acids and nucleotides, other factors such as fat, minerals, vitamins and some volatile organic compounds also affect the flavor of the meat. While the meat tastes and not only depends on its chemical composition, but also on other physical structures. Meat is not a a pendulum floating aside of muscle cells, but a muscle fiber in complex, there are some fat cells. In view of the public on the consumption of meat, meat in the lab training needs with the two-step. Extraction of muscle cells and composition of the muscle structure, the first step is easy, the latter step is really difficult.

Photos of microscopic muscle fibers.

Information pictures

Muscle contains muscle fibers, this is some elongated cells that have multiple nucle

i. They are not self proliferation, but through the muscle of the original cells (Precursorcells) growth of fusion. Muscle original cells can be embryonic stem cells or "satellite cells". "Satellite cell" is the muscle tissue in a special kind of stem cells.

In theory, in the lab developing muscle original cells, their integration is not difficult.

But in the actual muscle, cells should be "timely adjustment to growth", that is, when the cells in a growth of critical moment, have sent through blood vessels to nutrition and oxygen, while the metabolism of waste removed. Nutrients and oxygen need directly to each growing cells near the error level should be in mm. Now scientists figure out how to solve the problem of possible ways is to establish a cavernous "matrix", let the media into the "matrix", this "matrix" for growth and integration of muscle fibers cells provide nutrition.

In addition, other types of cells, such as fat cells should also growth in muscle tissue; at the same time, the chemical Messenger should organizations for growth to tip, let it grow out the correct structure; finally, muscle cells should accept the "exercise", through physical tension and movement to promote its development.

3 final results

Not like pork like clams

In the lab of both manufacturing meat is highly practical, but also have great technical difficulty, biotechnology and food technology in a large high ground.

United States Baltimore bloom Berg Health Academy horse Bethany (JasonMatheny) that the United States, Scandinavia and Japan some research institutions in fostering research in the lab, Netherlands is the most advanced scientists. And agricultural University in food science and nutrition workersCheng, Dean of the Faculty of law, said China has not yet been carried out research in this field.

Previously, scientists manufacture of artificial meat is a thin layer.

This back to the Netherlands scientists spent 30 days to produce man-made pork has up to 1 cm of muscle fibers. Mr Straw said he hadn't tasted my own flesh, but can be said that the meat looks like. They produce of this meat fiber look just like the clam meat, to prototyping, but still a little soft collapse collapse sticky because of the laboratory of meat containing protein than traditional pork. They are the biggest problem is how to improve artificial meat protein content: the real butcher, the protein content of 99%, but the lab training out of meat protein content only 88%, other of mostly water and nucleic acids. Mr Straw said the low protein content means that it probably tastes nothing like pork.

However, Mr Straw or expressed their own research results of great confidence, fiber short, protein less meat, can be used in sausages or Hamburg, since these things are made with meat.

Meat is the muscle fiber ground, often also joined the starches like.

Mr Straw said they are starting from pork, because they are most familiar with pork, but this technique can be very simple to use to develop other meats such as chicken, beef and mutton, artificial meat's future is very bright!

【 Link 】

The future of meat?

World demand for meat has been increasing.

In China, for example, in 1985, China's per capita meat consumption to 20 kg a year, in 2006, this figure rises to 50 kg. But the Earth to growth of plants is limited, animals need to eat meat for plants to grow, so we eat that, sooner or later one will not eat meat, the future of meat comes from?, cloud Centerless solve future problems, in addition to eat meat, meat two way out.

Way out of 1

Improve production efficiency

When the pig slaughter time from one year to six months, chicken growing from six months to three months, the meat yield is likely to increase exponentially.

The problem is that this wayis faced with a myriad of criticism and doubts. On the other hand, no matter how advanced biotechnology, animals are only rarely in the plant part of nutrients into the meat. Production of 1 kg of meat, always take several kilograms of feed (for beef is about 8 kg or so), there are thousands of kilograms of water.

Way out of 2

Meat plant protein synthesis

In the add some soy protein has the role of food component bonding, after extrusion, can be obtained with the original form of soybean protein completely different things, for example, it can look like real meat like tear into the shape of the fiber.

Because it is derived from plants, it does not contain fat and cholesterol. In this sense, even better than the real meat is more superior. Its taste is also close to the meat. But it tastes like beef is with too big a gap.

In the North American market, "the concept of alternative meat" only developers and distributors, which exist between the product name is a completely new Word.

Developers need to be tailored to specific foods, develop new recipes, so as to avoid the problem of taste. For example, in an alternative application of tuna, almost half of the fish being replaced by this product, and then joined the appropriate pigment and spices. Finally, when a customer in the supermarket found a cheap canned tuna, bought a eat, discovery is also good. Don't know why, go to the instructions found in the original time is spent plant protein substitute fish. Interviews/reporter Liu Zheng