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A comment on Insiders reveal major problems at lab-grown meat startup. Parent comment

Re:Insiders reveal major problems at lab-grown meat startup by nicoburns on Sunday September 17, 2023 @06:21PM (#37549885)
> The cells want to grow in a one-cell-thick monolayer all over the inside of the bottle. What they won't do is to grow a double layer. This is because they have "contact inhibition" which is a major mechanism for preventing tumor-like growth: when cells are touching each other, they stop dividing.

How does that work inside the human body, where presumably they do form 3D structures?

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Re:Insiders reveal major problems at lab-grown meat startup by jojobas on Sunday September 17, 2023 @08:51PM (#37550947)
Tumors grow when various inhibition mechanisms fail.
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Re:Insiders reveal major problems at lab-grown meat startup by civilitty on Sunday September 17, 2023 @10:16PM (#37551453)
It's incredibly complicated and every type of tissue has it's own specific mechanisms for forming it's 3D structure but the short answer is that there is an "extracellular matrix" that forms a network of macromolecules using collagen, elastin, fibronectin, and a bunch more signaling and structural proteins that organize cell growth.

The ECM starts developing in the fetus and figuring out how it grows from a few cells into a bunch of differentiated organs, muscles, bone, etc. is a core problem in embryology (biology in general, really). If we knew enough to make proper meat, we'd probably be steps away from a Jurassic park scenario.

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