Magnets can stimulate cell growth

The new process is an environmentally friendly, cleaner, safer, and more economical way to produce cellular meat
.

Researchers at the National University of Singapore hit animal cells with magnets and discovered a revolutionary way to
produce cellular meat.
By using fewer animal products, this innovative approach simplifies cell-based meat production, making it safer, cleaner and more cost-effective
.

The benefits of artificial meat compared to traditional livestock farming include a reduced carbon footprint and a lower chance of disease transmission in
animals.
However, current methods of artificial meat production require the use of other animal products, which is largely contrary to the purpose, or the use of drugs to stimulate the growth
of meat.

Associate Professor Alfredo Franco-Obregón and Dr Alex Tai from the National University of Singapore have developed a new method
of cell-based meat growth in the laboratory by exposing animal cells to magnetic impulses.
Image source: Institute of Health Innovation and Technology, National University of Singapore

Animal cells are injected into animal serum — usually fetal bovine serum (FBS), a mixture obtained from the blood of fetuses removed from pregnant cattle killed by the dairy or meat industry — to help them develop and proliferate to grow cell-based meat
.
This is an important stage in the current cell-based meat manufacturing process, albeit brutal and expensive
.
Ironically, many of these molecules come from the muscles of killed animals, but scientists don't know how to stimulate their release
in large-scale bioreactors.
Other ways to promote cell proliferation include the use of drugs or genetic engineering
.

Complex manufacturing methods for cell-based meat raise costs, limit the scale of production, and threaten commercial viability
.

To help solve this challenge, a multidisciplinary team of researchers led by Associate Professor Alfredo Franco-Obregón from the National University of Singapore's Institute of Health Innovation and Technology and the National University of Singapore's Vinh Lorraine School of Medicine proposed an unconventional approach that uses magnetic pulses to stimulate the growth
of cellular flesh.

The technology from the National University of Singapore used a precisely tuned pulsed magnetic field developed by the team to grow myogenic stem cells
in skeletal muscle and bone marrow tissue.

Associate Professor Franco-Obregón explains: "In just 10 minutes of magnetic field exposure, cells release countless molecules with regenerative, metabolic, anti-inflammatory and immune enhancements
.
These substances are part of the muscle "secretion group" (secreting factors) and are necessary for the growth, survival and development of
cells into tissue.
We are very excited about the possibility of the release of the magnetic stimulation secretion group, and perhaps one day replace the demand for
FBS in artificial meat production.
”

He added: "Growth-inducing secretions can be safely and conveniently obtained in the laboratory at a low
cost.
In this way, myogenic stem cells will act as a sustainable green bioreactor, producing nutrient-rich secretors for large-scale growth of cell-based meat for consumption
.
A muscle knows how to produce what it needs to grow and develop – it just needs a little encouragement
when it's not with its owner.
That's what our magnetic field can offer
.
”

Harvested secretions can also be used in regenerative medicine
.
The NUS research team used secreted proteins to treat unhealthy cells and found that they help accelerate the recovery and growth
of unhealthy cells.
Therefore, this method may help to heal injured cells and accelerate the patient's recovery
.
The new technology has also been patented, and the team at the National University of Singapore is currently actively discussing commercializing
the technology with potential industrial partners.

Brief exposure to directionally-specific pulsed electromagnetic fields stimulates extracellular vesicle release and is antagonized by streptomycin: A potential regenerative medicine and food industry paradigm” by Craig Jun Kit Wong, Yee Kit Tai, Jasmine Lye Yee Yap, Charlene Hui Hua Fong, Larry Sai Weng Loo, Marek Kukumberg, Jürg Fr?hlich, Sitong Zhang, Jing Ze Li, Jiong-Wei Wang, Abdul Jalil Rufaihah and Alfredo Franco-Obregón, 13 July 2022, Biomaterials.