have developed immortalized bovine muscle stem cells that can grow rapidly, divide hundreds of times, and possibly continue to do so indefinitely. These immortalized cells are a significant step toward making it possible for millions of people to be fed through cellular agriculture, which is the process of growing meat in bioreactors.
Currently, it is difficult and expensive to produce cell-cultured meat because muscle and fat cells need to be able to grow and divide rapidly. Normal muscle stem cells can only divide about 50 times before they stop dividing and die. However, immortalized cells developed by the TUCCA team can divide indefinitely, which means they can produce much more meat.
There are concerns about the safety of consuming immortalized cells, but David Kaplan, who is the Stern Family Professor of Biomedical Engineering at Tufts and also the director of TUCCA, states that by the time the cells are harvested, stored, cooked, and digested, they cannot continue to grow. They become inert material that is similar to natural meat and provides numerous nutritious benefits.
Cellular agriculture is a promising approach to address the increasing demand for food production and reduce the environmental consequences of conventional animal farming. The possibility of generating significant amounts of sustainable meat through this technology to feed millions of people worldwide is a thrilling prospect, and it will be intriguing to witness the evolution of this research in the coming years.