Japanese Company Grows Foie Gras in the Lab

Catherine Lamb wrote . . . . . . . . .

Foie gras is one of the most contentious animal products out there. In order to get the goose liver so fatty, farmers have to force feed the animals — a practice that makes foie gras both ethically iffy and really expensive. Some cities are even considering banning it altogether.

However, Japanese cellular agriculture startup Integriculture is developing a cultured foie gras that can be made entirely without animals and therefore without the ethical hangups. This week, the company got one step closer to its goal when it did a private taste test of its cell-based liver at the Beyond Next Ventures office in Tokyo.

Integriculture has done previous tests of its product, but according to an email from Integriculture CEO Yuki Hanyu, this version was significantly more sophisticated. He noted that previous experiments were “chicken cell liver paste,” while this new product was “actual fat-loaded duck liver cells.” It apparently tasted much better and had a cleaner flavor than earlier versions. Hanyu said that they didn’t calculate the cost of producing the cultured foie gras.

The company is also finishing development on their SpaceSalt, a powdered version of cell media (the nutrient-rich bath in which cellular meat is grown) which they’ll sell to biohackers who want to grow their own meat at home using the guide from Shojinmeat, the DIY cultured meat community which Integriculture grew out of. in the aforementioned email, Hanyu told me he hopes to start selling the SpaceSalt by the end of this year.

Integriculture is on a tight timeline to perfect its cell-based foie gras and make it in large enough quantities to sell. The startup plans to launch the cultured liver in restaurants in 2021 and roll it out in Japanese retail in 2023, assuming the government approves cell-based meat for sale. That’s not a lot of time, but this latest test seems to show that the company is at least getting closer to perfecting the product.

Source: Spoon

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Ingredients

2 x 650g small chickens
2 lemons, cut into wedges
12 cloves garlic, skin on
12 springs thyme
olive oil, for drizzling

Method

1. Preheat oven to 220°C (425°F).
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Source: Fat, Fresh, Simple

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Time With Grandkids Could Boost Health – Even Lifespan

Julie Brogan’s granddaughters, ages 9, 12 and 13, spend part of every summer at her home overlooking Lake Michigan in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin. They enjoy paddle boarding, swimming and working on projects in the professional painter’s art studio.

Their experiences have mirrored what scientific researchers have found: Spending time with grandchildren can have positive health impacts. But there is a caveat. Quality is just as important as quantity.

“It’s been a hard summer, but it makes me feel really good to have them in the house, and they have been very helpful to me,” said Brogan, 74, who had radiation to treat non-invasive breast cancer. “Right now, it’s a healing place, and they’re really helping me to get through this.”

A 2016 study found half of grandparents who participated at least occasionally in their grandchildren’s lives were more likely to be alive five years later than those who had no involvement. And in a 2014 study, researchers reported grandparents who watched their grandchildren one day per week had higher cognitive scores than those who never did.

“Having a close connection once or twice per week can be really beneficial, both for mood and for health,” said Dr. Carolyn Kaloostian, a geriatric medicine specialist in Pasadena, California. She’s a clinical assistant professor of family medicine at the University of Southern California’s Keck School of Medicine. “The major studies show that as long as it’s not overwhelming, if there are moderate amounts of responsibility and pleasurable activities, it really does help in many ways.”

Kaloostian recommends grandparents engage with their grandchildren in activities that would be healthy for both parties, such as flying a kite, walking through the park or even a slow jog.

“If we can get grandparents moving, it will improve their heart health, their brain health and mood,” Kaloostian said.

It might seem like common sense that it’s healthy for grandparents to spend time with their grandchildren. But Susan Kelley, a professor of nursing and director of Project Healthy Grandparents at Georgia State University in Atlanta, said the quality of the interaction is a critical factor.

“For part-time caregivers, the research is mixed,” Kelley said. “Some see an improvement in mental health and others report increased stress and health issues.”

Kelley’s work focuses on grandparents who are raising grandchildren, a growing phenomenon in the United States.

According to experts, between 2.5 and 3 million grandparents play a parental role, something Kelley attributed largely to mental health issues, incarceration and substance abuse, much of it driven by the opioid epidemic.

“It’s more than just feeding and clothing the children,” Kelley said. “The grandparents are dealing with their own emotional trauma, because something has gone wrong in the lives of their adult child.”

This can take a toll on a grandparent’s health.

A study published in June in The Review of Economics of the Household reported grandparents who provide 10 additional hours of child care per month are more likely to experience depressive symptoms such as sadness, pessimism, insomnia, fatigue and chronic pain. It’s part of a growing body of research demonstrating that grandparents in a custodial role experience lower levels of physical and mental health.

For Brogan, her recent fatigue is a side effect of radiation therapy. While she has not been as physically active with her grandchildren this summer as she normally would be, it hasn’t dampened her enthusiasm about their extended visit.

“We have a lot of interaction, sometimes it’s physical and sometimes it’s a more mental, creative exchange,” Brogan said. They often work side-by-side in her art studio, where the girls recently made “healing dolls” out of old cloth hospital gowns.

“They are lovely to have around, and they certainly keep me energetic in many ways.”

Source: HealthDay

Study: Even Age 80 Is Not Too Late to Begin Exercising

Even seniors who never exercised regularly can benefit from a workout program, researchers say.

A new study found that men in their 70s and 80s who had never followed an exercise regimen could build muscle mass as well as “master athletes” — those of the same age who had worked out throughout their lives and still competed at the top levels of their sports.

The U.K. researchers took muscle biopsies from both groups in the 48 hours before and after a single weight-training session on an exercise machine. The men were also given an isotope tracer before the workout in order to track how proteins were developing in their muscles.

It was expected that the master athletes would be better able to build muscle during exercise, but both groups had an equal capacity to do so, the University of Birmingham team found.

The study was published in the journal Frontiers in Physiology.

“Our study clearly shows that it doesn’t matter if you haven’t been a regular exerciser throughout your life, you can still derive benefit from exercise whenever you start,” lead researcher Leigh Breen said in a university news release. He’s a senior lecturer in exercise physiology and metabolism.

“Obviously a long-term commitment to good health and exercise is the best approach to achieve whole-body health, but even starting later on in life will help delay age-related frailty and muscle weakness,” Breen said.

Current public health advice about strength training for older people tends to be “quite vague,” he noted.

“What’s needed is more specific guidance on how individuals can improve their muscle strength, even outside of a gym-setting through activities undertaken in their homes — activities such as gardening, walking up and down stairs, or lifting up a shopping bag can all help if undertaken as part of a regular exercise regimen,” Breen said.

Source : University of Birmingham

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