Producing cultivated meat is no longer just about growing cells in large numbers. The next challenge is guiding those cells into forming real tissue with structure, texture, and function. Without this level of organization, cultivated meat struggles to move beyond simple formats into products that resemble what consumers expect.
Recreating the body’s early blueprint for muscle
A patent application from Ramot at Tel Aviv University takes a developmental approach to this challenge by recreating an early stage of embryonic muscle formation. Instead of directly turning stem cells into muscle cells, the method first guides them into forming somites, natural building blocks that later develop into skeletal muscle (US20260055377A1).
The process begins with stem cells forming small spherical clusters in liquid culture. These clusters are briefly exposed to specific signals that push them toward a muscle-forming lineage. Once the signal is removed, the cells begin to organize themselves, forming elongated, structured units. Within one to two days, these develop into somite-like formations containing muscle progenitor cells.
A key detail is the controlled use of growth factors, kept at relatively low levels, which helps reduce cost and complexity. Structural support is added only after the cells show early signs of organization, allowing the system to remain flexible while still guiding tissue formation. This approach is a natural, serum- and genomic modifications-free, and potentially scalable way to produce structured muscle.
Translating academic biology into scalable food systems
Tel Aviv University focuses on turning academic discoveries into real-world applications. This patent reflects a broader strategy of applying developmental biology to industrial challenges in cellular agriculture. By leveraging insights from early tissue formation, the tech transfer company Ramot at Tel Aviv University is helping bridge the gap between laboratory research and scalable food production.
The people behind the science
Congratulations and a warm thank you to the inventors: Iftach Nachman, Gaya Savyon, for advancing practical pathways toward structured muscle tissue.
I am Nidhi Mote, a biomedical scientist and science communicator with a PhD where I spent years building tiny 3D models of blood vessels (because apparently regular-sized biology wasn't complicated enough). My background sits at the crossroads of bioengineering and cell biology and these days I channel that into writing about the futures being quietly built in labs, from cellular agriculture to next-gen biotech. I care about making science legible, exciting, and maybe even a little beautiful which is why I am equally likely to reach for a pen as I am a pipette. When I am not writing, I am doodling diagrams that probably explain things better than my words do. Based in Hamburg, always happy to talk tissue engineering, cellular agriculture, and connect with like-minded folks.
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This post is based on publicly available information. Lab Grown Technologies is not affiliated with the inventors or organizations mentioned.