Tech that could feed the world | Machine learning & Rx | An Alzheimer’s breakthrough
“We shall escape the absurdity of growing a whole chicken in order to eat the breast or wing, by growing these parts separately under a suitable medium." — Winston Churchill
Today’s itinerary:
January 21, 2021
CHAT WITH AN INNOVATOR
Matrix Meats offers path to feeding the world 
It doesn't look like much but this is the process of electrospinning used by Matrix Meats that could potentially feed the world.
Cell-cultured, or cultivated, meat is a technology that some say could revolutionize the global food system, feeding more people with nutritious protein without harming animals.
The idea is gaining traction. Last year, KFC-Russia began using the tech to produce real chicken meat grown from cells.
Cultivated meat is produced by in vitro cell culture of animal muscle tissue cells, instead of from slaughtered animals. Scientists draw the cells from animals, then feed and nurture them so they multiply. They are then assembled in groups to form small muscle tissue (called scaffolds) that are very similar to muscle fibers in a steak. For perspective, it takes 20,000 of those fibers to create one normal sized hamburger.
In December 2020, Columbus, OH-based Matrix Meats, a company that manufactures the custom-engineered 3D nanofiber, animal-free matrix for the meat to be grown on, announced the completion of their seed stage funding round. The round will allow the company to expand its scientific, manufacturing and business development teams, intensify the acquisition of customer/partners and further develop key strategic relationships within the cultivated meat market.
“We are material scientists. We use manufacturing technology and electrospinning to produce a fabric-like product. Because of the techniques we’ve developed, we are able to control the fiber diameter, the velocity, the degradation rate, etc. We can control all these variables that people previously weren’t able to control,” Matrix Meats CEO Eric Jenkusky told Flyover Future.
"It’s not every day you get invited to participate in a product that can affect everyone on the planet.”
— Eric Jenkusky, Matrix Meats
The technology itself has been used for a number of years in the regenerative medicine space. “We had expertise in that space. When we saw the cultivated meat industry popping up, we knew our technology could be applied to it,” Jenkusky said.
Jed Johnson, PhD, co-founder and CTO of Matrix Meats, is a recognized expert in tailoring nano-fiber technology for life science applications and has been working in the field for over a decade. Jenkusky, who also owns a manufacturing company called T.J. Clark International that creates fuel and water distribution systems for the Department of Defense, said when he was asked to participate in the development of Matrix Meats, he didn’t know what it was all about.
“But once I understood how the industry would positively affect the world from an animal rights perspective and also provide a means to feed the world as the population begins to grow, I was in,” he said. "It’s not every day you get invited to participate in a product that can affect everyone on the planet.” Share this story!
INNOVATORS PODCAST
Yes, data can answer these questions Flyover Future launched its inaugural Innovators Podcast with Microsoft's Future of Work Initiative in Louisville. Each episode shares stories from experts at the forefront of data and artificial intelligence. Listen to gain valuable insight and inspiration for your own data strategy. Here are episodes that cover how data and AI answer important questions. Your next big idea is one podcast episode away!
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PUDDLE HOPS
Eli Lilly drug to improve symptoms of Alzheimer's shows promise Eli Lilly’s investigative antibody Donanemab has showed significant slowing of decline of cognition and daily function in patients with early symptomatic Alzheimer's disease. Machine learning and prescription data Ohio State University scientists have developed a machine-learning method that crunches massive amounts of data to help determine which existing medications could improve outcomes in diseases for which they are not prescribed. Fighting human trafficking with tech The Human Trafficking Initiative (HTI) began as a research initiative at Creighton University in Omaha. Now the company’s technology, a novel approach to identifying potential trafficking networks, has raised funding so its work can expand to support law enforcement and victims. Breakthrough in arthritis research Research at Shriners Hospital in St. Louis links arthritis to signals from fat cells. The research will help doctors identify and treat the cause of arthritis in children. Share these stories!
FUELING THE FUTURE
What is fueling Flyover Country innovation? In this weekly feature, we share a variety of announcements covering funding, acquisitions, exits, grants, and everything in between. Got something to celebrate? Click here to share your story.
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