You already knew about lab-grown meats, which are grown from animal cells. And you probably know about CRISPR, the technology that lets scientists edit DNA with relative ease.
Now, Business Insider reports, at least two startups are trying to combine lab grown meats and CRISPR to invent the next generation of lab-grown meat — and it could lead to futuristic new frontiers in sustainable eating.
A pair of patents filed by Memphis Meats, a lab-grown meat outfit that’s gotten backing from tech luminaries including Bill Gates and Richard Branson, plans to “create real chicken and beef tissue” using CRISPR, according to the magazine.
“One application is to manufacture skeletal muscle for dietary consumption using cells from the poultry species Gallus gallus; another is from the livestock species Bos taurus.
The promise of gene-edited lab meat is enormous. For one thing, it could possibly eliminate the need for “fetal bovine serum,” a nutrient-rich mixture made from the blood of slaughtered cows that scientists currently use to nourish lab-grown meats — which would be a big step toward the dinners plates of animal rights advocates.
Technologies like CRISPR will allow us to make meat that is tastier, healthier, and more sustainable than slaughtered meat.
Reference- Futurism, Business Insider Report, LiveScience