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Japanese Researchers Grow Largest Lab-Cultured Chicken Chunk to Date

The University of Tokyo team develops a hollow-fiber bioreactor to produce an 11-gram chicken piece, advancing the potential for whole-cut cultured meat.

Image
Perfusion in the bioreactor
A stock image of chicken nuggets.
(Credit: Shoji Takeuchi, The University of Tokyo)

Overview

  • Researchers at the University of Tokyo have grown an 11-gram, nugget-sized piece of chicken using a hollow-fiber bioreactor that mimics blood vessels to deliver nutrients and oxygen.
  • The bioreactor, containing 1,125 hollow fibers, enables the growth of centimeter-scale chicken tissue with improved texture and alignment, a key challenge in cultured meat production.
  • This method represents a breakthrough in replicating the structure and texture of whole cuts of meat, addressing a major hurdle in the cultured meat industry.
  • The study, published in *Trends in Biotechnology*, highlights remaining challenges, including automating fiber removal, improving oxygen delivery, and transitioning to food-grade materials for commercialization.
  • Experts have praised the development as a transformative step for alternative proteins, with potential applications beyond food, including regenerative medicine and biohybrid robotics.