An Australian food startup called Vow experiments with unique cultured meat developed in a lab. Their latest concoction is the “mammoth meatball”— a piece of lab-grown meat derived from mammoth DNA. Scientists have been able to sequence the mammoth genome from mammoths discovered in the Arctic permafrost, and Vow used those genomes to create simulation mammoth meat. The meatball utilized sheep muscle cells and African elephant genomes, and includes the protein myoglobin, which is present in mammoth DNA and shapes the flavor, color, and texture of the meat. Vow’s mammoth meatball was created as a publicity stunt to show the capabilities of lab-grown meat, which is much better for the planet than traditional meat. The meatball will be preserved and sent to a science museum in the Netherlands for further research.
Image via Vow
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