Where’s the Beef?
What do you get when you produce meat with animal cells? Cell-based meat. Scientists use a combination of biotechnology, tissue engineering, molecular biology and synthetic processes. In this process, the animal itself is not reproduced but a product engineered to resemble traditional meat from an animal, such as an all-beef patty or steak.
Phys.org explains the process, “To cultivate cell-based meat, animal cells are fed animal serum—usually fetal bovine serum (FBS), which is a mixture harvested from the blood of fetuses excised from pregnant cows slaughtered in the dairy or meat industries—to help them grow and proliferate. This is a critical, yet cruel and expensive, step in the current cell-based meat production process. Ironically, many of these molecules come from the muscles within the slaughtered animal, but scientists did not know how to stimulate their release in production-scale bioreactors. Other methods to promote cell growth are drugs or genetic engineering.”
What’s Magnetic Fields Got To Do With Meat?
According to Thomas Insights, “Most cell-based meats rely on fetal bovine serum (FBS) for growth and proliferation. Alfredo Franco-Obregón and his team at NUS have now found a way to zap myogenic stem cells with magnetic pulses to make them release muscle secretomes — essential for transforming cells into healthy, regenerative tissues — without needing any drug or FBS.” While the FDA currently considers fetal bovine serum to be non-harzardous, some health critics still claim it can be a biohazard due to contaminated bovine pathogens. Other claims state it can cause inflammatory disease in humans. Most of all, its really expensive. And the application of magnetic fields is endless. So, what does this mean for other industries?”
What The Future Holds for Magnetic Fields
Thomas Insights explains, “This magnetic field technique could also revolutionize regenerative medicine. As the tech continues to advance, it could eventually help someone with brain damage, cancer, or organ failure.” With magnetic field techniques, advancement in artificial intelligence, and the creation of virtual realities–who needs a Mattel Hoverboard from Back To The Future?
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