Lab-Grown Chicken Nuggets Cook Up Potential

Scientists from the University of Tokyo have produced a nugget-sized chunk of lab-grown chicken using a novel bioreactor that mimics blood vessels, enabling cells to receive oxygen and nutrients as they would in a real body.

The Japanese researchers developed the “perfusable hollow fibre bioreactor”, which uses over 1 000 tiny, vein-like tubes to support and guide cell growth across thicker, structured tissue. Their method offers a more feasible solution compared to previously used traditional processes.

The result is an 11-gram, two-centimetre-thick slab of chicken muscle, believed to be the largest single piece of cultured meat grown to date. Though not yet edible – current materials do not meet food-grade standards – the technology lays the foundation for creating whole cuts like a breast or thigh.

There is high potential for it to become an ethical and more sustainable alternative to conventional meat.

Professor Shoji Takeuchi, co-author of the study, believes this method could accelerate the commercialisation of lab-grown meat, while also advancing regenerative medicine and soft robotics. The team is working to automate the process and replace the current fibres with consumable versions, possibly even flavoured.

However, hurdles remain: Cultured meat still faces scepticism, with 33% of Americans reportedly unwilling to try it out. There are also concerns about environmental impact, as some studies suggest large-scale production could be even more carbon-intensive than the entire beef sector.

Still, the prototype marks a meaty milestone. As Professor Derek Stewart of the James Hutton Institute in the United Kingdom quipped: “They’ve created something of a size and scale that people are hard-wired to eat: it’s the chicken nugget model.”