The University of Southampton

Author: Sulav Yakha

Harvesting the future : Unveiling the potential of stem cell-cultured meat

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Cultured meat tissue created using a 3D printer by Meatech.

Utilising stem cells in 3D printing technology has opened up a massive amount of potential in regenerative medicine and is rapidly improving. 3D printing using stem cells is being used today to revolutionise the food industry by providing an alternative to regular meat!

I believe the industry holds promise and can provide a highly customizable and slaughter free alternative to conventional meats. While also tackling issues like climate change, gas emissions and food waste.

What is 3D-printed meat?

It is a type of cultured or programmable meat replica made from the process of 3D printing using stem cells, attempting to mimic regular farmed meat at a cellular level. Aiming to recreate the taste, smell and texture of conventionally farmed meat.

How is 3D printed-cultured meat made?

While production does require fat and muscle cells from an animal, no slaughtering of livestock is required. The process utilises stem cells that scientists choose depending on the type of meat desired. These cells then undergo a proliferation process, and are bathed in a nutrient dense serum in a climate-controlled bioreactor.

After several weeks the cells will differentiate into fat and muscle cells that form the bio-ink. A robotic arm with a nozzle dispenses the cultured meat filament crafting the meat layer by layer. The arm following instructions using a computer-aided design to form the intended structure.

The product is incubated again allowing the stem cells to further differentiate and mature, the muscle fibres once fully developed will have the right thickness, length and density and after a few more weeks the meat is ready to be cooked and served for consumption!

The video below shows how researchers at Osaka University utilised 3D printing with stem cells isolated from Japanese cattle to make wagyu steak :

FastForward Tech

Why stem cell-cultivated meat?

The food industry is resource intensive and needs large quantities of land and fresh water, With Our world in Data stating that “food production accounts for over a 1/4 of global greenhouses emissions”. By utilising 3D printing and cultured-meat harvests we can address the ethical concerns associated with animal farming, but also decrease agricultural land and water usage, leading to enhanced energy efficiency.

Stem cells are one of the most important cells for any organism due to their ability to turn into other types of cell, and are crucial in advancing the field of synthetic meats.

Professor Hojae Bae and his team at Konkuk university are using immortalised fibroblast cells implanted with two genes to transform them into muscle and fat-laden cells, aided by an optimised 3D-printable hydrogel scaffold to grow cells for printing steaks. The image displays the fat and muscle cells together with microchannels.

The future of 3D-printed meat ?

The cost to produce cultured meat was estimated to be about $700 per kilogram by a lab at Konkuk University, with the average cost of a 3D-food printer being between $1000-$5000 with additional costs for food-grading machines for meat production.

The procedural process can also be difficult, with varying qualities of meat and an entire tissue engineering stage prior to actual printing. The 3D printers specific for production of meat are also in need of further development, to ensure that the food manufacturing process is safe.

With the Singapore Food Agency accepting the world’s first cultivated chicken for sale in Dec 2022, it is only a matter of time before other nations follow. I believe that once these issues are attended to 3D-printed meat will soon play a pivotal role in challenging the environment and ethical issues regarding conventional farmed meat.

Printing life : Can 3D-bioprinting organs using stem cells revolutionise medicine?

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A 3-D printed heart composed of human tissue from Tel Aviv University.

Medical 3D-printing using stem cells sounds like a dream but recent advances in printing technologies has paved the way for new possibilities in artificial organ printing and regenerative medicine.

Across the globe many individuals who need organ transplants are suffering due to the lack of available donors. The NHS states that in the last 10 years, 1/4 of patients waiting for a lung transplant have died. Utilising 3D-printing to make organs accessible can play a crucial role in removing the issue of waiting years for a donor.

What actually are 3D-bioprinted organs?

They are functional and biologically manufactured replicas of natural body parts, made out of a bio-ink which consists of biopolymers and stem cells which is cultivated in a lab.

I believe 3D printed organs hold promise in terms of transplantation, disease modelling and drug testing, but challenges arise in regards to functionality, availability and if the body will accept the manufactured organs.

How does 3D-bioprinting organs work?

In short, 3D printed organs are made from a mixture of biopolymer hydrogels and cultured stem cells forming a bio-ink. Hydrogels like alginate or gelatin, are used as ‘scaffolds’ in the printing process of the organ. The process sounds simple but researchers must take into account factors like cell/ tissue type and the bio-ink needed for the specific organ.

Mark Skylar-Scott, an assistant professor at the Stanford University department of bioengineering stated the bio-ink is loaded into “syringes and is squeezed out of the nozzle like icing on a cake”. This process is repeated with different cell types, and once complete is provided with oxygen and nutrients. Over time developing to perform its intended function.

Skylar-Scott’s team developed a method to speed up the printing process, it involves printing in clusters called organoids which he describes as a “human stem cell mayonnaise” which is then printed. The video below describes the process in full :

Stanford University/CNET

What role do stem cells have?

Stem cells are old news in the medicinal world, the first successful Hematopoietic stem cell transplant was in 1959! Stem cells have the ability to turn into other cell types and for that reason they are still extremely relevant to this day.

Stem cells are still used to innovate treatments. For example, induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) obtained from de-differentiating skin cells, can turn into any type of cell, making the possibilities for new treatments endless, as stem cells can be acquired without the controversial use of embryos.

The video below shows Dr. Brenda Ogle’s team at the University of Minnesota using iPSCs to create a 3D printed functional human heart pump :

University of Minnesota

The future of 3D-bioprinting organs ?

In 2022/2023, 281 people died while waiting for a kidney transplant in the UK, 3D printed organs can reduce the waiting time for in-demand organs. Wake Forest scientists have been able to grow mini-kidneys and livers, demonstrating the promise that printed organs have for the future .The cost of a liver transplant in the USA is approximately $812,500, 3D-bioprinters that can make printed organs can be as cheap as $45,000, providing a cost effective alternative for patients.

The actual use of these organs is still 20 to 30 years away. Better hardware with the ability to replicate the complex nature of organs, and mitigating issues like biomaterial degradation and tissue integration is crucial if we want to use these organs in the future. I believe that the use of 3D-printed organs can revolutionise medicine and give hope to those in need of transplants.

Neuralink – Is it the next step for humanity?

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It is not surprising that Elon Musk is now at the forefront of implementing computer interfaces in the human brain. His recent successes with Tesla and Space X has revolutionised technology and he continues to innovate now with the ‘goal to restore autonomy to those with unmet medical needs’ , but more importantly he aims to unlock human potential.

What is neuralink?

Founded in 2016 by Elon Musk and Jared Birchall , Musk has stated that neuralink is an implant in the human skull and will essentially work symbiotically with the brain connecting the user to the internet allowing control over different technologies.