Strange News: NASA experiment leads to test-tube hamburger

Strange News: NASA experiment leads to test-tube hamburger
July 13, 2006

A scientist has developed a process to grow microscopic cow cells that can be cooked in a bioreactor to grow a full-size hamburger.

Vladimir Mironov, a researcher in Medical University of South Carolina's cell biology and anatomy department, developed the process while working on a grant from NASA, which has been looking for ways to carry food for astronauts on deep-space missions.

"If you go to Mars, you couldn't take cows or other animals with you," Mironov told the Post Courier.

After it was created, the burger was turned down by NASA. And now the scientist is searching for fast-food companies to invest in it. So far, no QSRs have bitten on his proposal.

-Staff reports