Hebrew University scaffold could cut the cost of lab-grown steak

Researchers at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem have reported a way to make cultivated, or lab-grown, steak far less expensive to produce. The study, published in the journal Current Research in Food Science and announced on June 2, 2026, was carried out by Alon Gershkoviz, Joseph Kippen and Yael Gilad, mentored by Dr. Sharon Schlesinger and Prof. Oded Shoseyov of the university's agriculture faculty, with Prof. Ido Braslavsky as a collaborator.

Growing meat from animal cells avoids raising and slaughtering livestock, but whole cuts such as steak remain hard and costly to make. A major reason is the nutrient broth the cells grow in, and in particular its growth factors, the signaling proteins that tell cells to multiply and become muscle. These proteins can account for more than 95 percent of the cost of the growth medium.

Instead of dissolving the growth factors in the liquid, the team attached them directly to an edible scaffold made from plant-derived cellulose. Shaped by directional freezing, the scaffold contains aligned microscopic channels that resemble the natural framework of muscle. Cow stem cells seeded onto it attached well, lined up along the fibers and over several weeks developed into muscle-like tissue containing fat and structural muscle proteins. The researchers achieved comparable growth while using as little as a tenth of the usual amount of growth factors. The finished tissue approached the stiffness and strength of raw sirloin, and when pan-fried it browned, kept its shape and had a fibrous, beef-like texture.

Schlesinger told the Press Service of Israel that the goal is a cut that looks, feels and tastes like steak and contains the same components, produced without the environmental costs of livestock farming. She argued that a growing world population will need alternative protein sources by 2050. The team says the next steps are to remove animal serum from the process entirely and to scale up production, which will require investment and time.