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Scientists Deploy Advanced Metamaterials and Injection Molding to Create Artificial Meat
The Debrief ^ | January 20, 2025 | Micah Hanks

Posted on 01/20/2025 9:11:26 AM PST by Red Badger

(Credit: Hebrew University)

A new variety of synthetic meat, comparable in flavor to lamb or beef, has been created by an Israeli-based research team using metamaterials and injection molding technology.

The artificial meat is reportedly difficult to distinguish from its naturally farmed counterparts, according to scientists with the Hebrew University of Jerusalem involved in the research. The team calls their meat substitute a “major step” toward producing sustainable alternatives to traditional protein sources derived from livestock.

The innovation is described in a new paper that appeared in Nature Communications.

Artificial Whole-Cut ‘Meta-Meat’

Whole cuts currently represent more than half of all global meat consumption. Although meat alternatives already exist, many artificial meats lack the texture and flavor of those afforded us by nature.

Aiming to develop a comparable protein alternative, the Hebrew University team, led by Dr. Mohammad Ghosheh and Professor Yaakov Nahmias with the Hebrew University Alexander Grass Center for Bioengineering, chose to employ materials science as a path toward overcoming the complicated process of replicating the texture and structure of naturally farmed meats.

Affordability is also a factor, and the Hebrew University researchers were aware that pioneering technologies like 3D printing, which have become more accessible in recent years, still impose some limitations on how protein alternatives are produced.

Applying a novel approach toward the problem, the Israeli and Palestinian engineering team decided to use metamaterials instead, facilitating a novel method of creating whole cuts of “meat.”

Injection Molding: From Aerospace to Artificial Meat

In essence, metamaterials are composite materials with unique properties dictated by their structure rather than the materials from which they are composed.

Artist’s concept of the structure of metamaterial fat (Credit: Hebrew University).

Borrowing from the aerospace industry’s playbook, injection molding was selected as a viable manufacturing process the team could use to help them recreate the intricate combination of muscles and fats that real meat is comprised of.

The team says this is the first time injection molding has been employed to create meat alternatives in the lab.

Metamaterials at the Meat Market

At the heart of the team’s work are a pair of metamaterials unique to the research. One is a low-temperature meat analogue that successfully reproduces the texture of muscle tissue. The other is a plant-protein-stabilized proteoleogel, which simulates the same structural integrity of animal fats even under the high-heat conditions under which real meat is normally cooked.

When combined, the team says these materials helped them create cuts of meat comparable in appearance, taste, and texture to beef and other varieties of meat. A range of different complex cuts are also attainable, from various steaks to chops and even bone-in cuts like T-bones.

Left to Right: Dr. Mohammad Ghosheh and Prof. Yaakov Nahmias, the researchers who led the recent study (Credit: Hebrew University).

Prof. Nahmias said the team’s achievement “demonstrates the untapped potential of metamaterials in food technology” and in ways that hold the potential for guiding future advancements in the development of sustainable protein alternatives and other engineered food sources.

“By harnessing their unique structural properties, we have developed a solution that is not only sustainable but also scalable,” Nahmias added, “addressing the growing global demand for meat while mitigating its environmental impact.”

Beyond Artificial Meat

The team says this novel approach has several potential applications beyond the creation of meat alternatives. Injection molding provides an accessible and affordable means of producing unique materials that are uniquely scalable.

For example, the team’s production of artificial meats using their novel approach costs roughly a quarter of what achieving similar results using 3D printing methods would cost.

The team’s research also has environmental implications. Presently, livestock farming is responsible for close to one-third of the world’s freshwater consumption. Employing scalable and affordable methods of producing meat alternatives could potentially reduce that burden and contribute to a more sustainable food system overall.

Also significant to the consumer, the team’s innovation helps produce food products that are not only more sustainable but also enjoyable to eat.

The team’s new paper, “Metamaterial-Based Injection Molding for the Cost-Effective Production of Whole Cuts,” appeared in Nature Communications.

Micah Hanks is the Editor-in-Chief and Co-Founder of The Debrief. He can be reached by email at micah@thedebrief.org. Follow his work at micahhanks.com and on X: @MicahHanks.


TOPICS: Agriculture; Business/Economy; Food; Health/Medicine
KEYWORDS: beef; farming; pork; science
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To: Red Badger

Hmmmmmmm🤔. 🚫


21 posted on 01/20/2025 9:37:29 AM PST by rktman (Destroy America from within ? Check! WTH? Enlisted USN 1967 to end up with this💩? 🚫💉! 🇮🇱👍!)
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To: TexasGator

TOO AFRAID TO TELL US HOW MUCH MILK A DAIRY COW PRODUCES EVERY DAY????

I was raised on a dairy farm.

IT IS ALOT.


22 posted on 01/20/2025 9:38:11 AM PST by ridesthemiles (not giving up on TRUMP---EVER)
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To: Red Badger

NO


23 posted on 01/20/2025 9:40:09 AM PST by citizen (Political incrementalism is like compound interest for liberals - every little bit adds up.)
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To: ridesthemiles


TOO AFRAID TO TELL US HOW MUCH MILK A DAIRY COW PRODUCES EVERY DAY????”

Nope! From same link:

Milk - Female cows produce an average of 8 gallons (30.1 liters) per day, but may range from 4 to 20 gallons (15.1-7.5 liters). A gallon of milk weighs 8.6 lbs. In 1880 the average cow produced 2,003 lbs. (909 kg)of milk per year. In 1982 the average cow produced 12,316 lbs. (5,591 kg) of milk per year.


24 posted on 01/20/2025 9:41:32 AM PST by TexasGator (1)
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To: Red Badger

We already have Spam.


25 posted on 01/20/2025 9:42:18 AM PST by kaktuskid
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To: kaktuskid

Now they can have spam in shapes of real meat!.................


26 posted on 01/20/2025 9:43:25 AM PST by Red Badger (Homeless veterans camp in the streets while illegals are put up in 5 Star hotels....................)
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To: Red Badger

Mystery Meat II. New and improved!


27 posted on 01/20/2025 9:45:42 AM PST by E. Pluribus Unum (The worst thing about censorship is █████ ██ ████ ████ ████ █ ███████ ████. FJB.)
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To: ridesthemiles

Yep, lots of milk that makes butter and cheese! Plus, that manure is great natural fertilizer!

Peach


28 posted on 01/20/2025 9:51:26 AM PST by CarolinaPeach
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To: Red Badger
Meanwhile back in rural America...


29 posted on 01/20/2025 9:54:21 AM PST by maddog55 (The only thing systemic in America is the left's hatred of it!)
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To: Red Badger

Pass the bread please


30 posted on 01/20/2025 11:00:25 AM PST by muir_redwoods (There will be a celebration in January 2025, either with champagne or with “hardware)
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To: Red Badger

Food for Democrats.

I support a compromise with Democrats where they pay an 80% income tax rate, cannot bear arms, must get all their speech preapproved by a censorship board, get mandatory genital mutilation, and eat only manmade meat. It’s the Utopia they’ve been dreaming of.


31 posted on 01/20/2025 11:35:06 AM PST by unlearner (Still not tired of winning.)
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To: Red Badger

How much colon flush does it take to pass it.


32 posted on 01/20/2025 12:25:06 PM PST by Vaduz
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To: Red Badger

YOU_GO_FIRST_PING!


33 posted on 01/20/2025 8:32:57 PM PST by The Duke (Not without incident.)
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To: Red Badger

Maybe. I wouldn’t eat it, but it has zero to do with kosher.


34 posted on 02/04/2025 7:46:50 AM PST by Jewbacca (The residents of Iroquois territory may not determine whether Jews may live in Jerusalem.)
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To: Red Badger
sustainable alternatives to traditional protein sources derived from livestock.

Raising cows, pigs, chickens, turkeys, ducks, goats, geese, sheep, etc. is all very "sustainable". Why are they trying to replace natural food with highly processed artificial stuff? I thought highly processed stuff was "bad" ...

Is the bottom line here "you vill eet ze buggzzzz!!!"?

35 posted on 02/04/2025 7:50:24 AM PST by NorthMountain (... the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed)
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