Scientists Develop Method to Grow Wood in a Lab
2021-02-08
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1American scientists say they have developed a way to grow wood material in a laboratory.
2The method could create different wood products indoors in a single process, greatly cutting the cost of production and reducing damage to the world's forests.
3Researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) demonstrated a proof of concept by growing wood-like structures from cells taken from the leaves of a flowering plant.
4The results were recently reported in a study appearing in the Journal of Cleaner Production.
5The lead researcher on the project was Luis Fernando Velásquez-García, a scientist in MIT's Microsystems Technology Laboratories.
6He told MIT News the process is still in early development.
7But if it can be perfected, it could simplify and speed up the production of wood products.
8"The way we get these materials hasn't changed in centuries and is very inefficient," Velásquez-García said.
9For example, the current process for making a wooden table can take many years.
10First, a tree has to grow.
11Then, it must be cut down, transported, processed, etc.
12 Velásquez-García says lab-grown wood could combine all those steps into one.
13"If you want a table, then you should just grow a table," he said.
14The process is similar in some ways to lab produced meat, which is grown from live animal cells.
15But in the wood experiment, the MIT team collected live cells from the leaves of a zinnia plant.
16The plant cells were then cultured and kept in an environment designed to activate and support growth.
17"Plant cells are similar to stem cells in the sense that they can become anything if they are induced to," Velásquez-García said.
18The experiment was carried out indoors, without soil or sunlight.
19During the process, the researchers used a mixture of two plant hormones that helped the cells grow a thick, strong wood-like structure.
20With further development, the researchers say they could use the same process to grow wood in specific shapes, such as a table or chair.
21Ashley Beckwith is a doctoral student in mechanical engineering at MIT who led the research.
22She told MIT News she got the idea for the project while spending time on a farm.
23She said she wondered whether some of the inefficiencies present in agriculture could be improved through laboratory methods.
24"I wanted to find a more efficient way to use land and resources so that we could let more arable areas remain wild," Beckwith said.
25She says the experiment demonstrated that growing plant tissue in a lab could also have a big effect in agriculture.
26Like with wood production, the process could reduce the time and effort related to traditional agriculture methods.
27It could also remove difficulties linked to weather and seasonality in farming, Beckwith said.
28Such a lab-based farming method "promises to improve yields while reducing plant waste and competition for arable land," the research study states.
29David Stern is a plant biologist and president of the Boyce Thompson Institute.
30He was not involved in the study.
31He told MIT News one big question is whether the technology can be effectively scaled and remain economically competitive.
32Stern added that scaling up the method would require major financial and intellectual investments.
33And he said new issues would arise when bringing parts of forestry and agriculture into the lab.
34"Agriculture uses the sun's energy through photosynthesis, and...natural rainfall. It does not require buildings, heat, or artificial light," Stern said.
35Velásquez-García said his team will be working to improve the method, especially to learn how to better control the final materials that are produced.
36And, the researchers also want to carry out new experiments to see whether the same results can be reached with other kinds of plants.
37I'm Bryan Lynn.
1American scientists say they have developed a way to grow wood material in a laboratory. The method could create different wood products indoors in a single process, greatly cutting the cost of production and reducing damage to the world's forests. 2Researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) demonstrated a proof of concept by growing wood-like structures from cells taken from the leaves of a flowering plant. 3The results were recently reported in a study appearing in the Journal of Cleaner Production. The lead researcher on the project was Luis Fernando Velásquez-García, a scientist in MIT's Microsystems Technology Laboratories. 4He told MIT News the process is still in early development. But if it can be perfected, it could simplify and speed up the production of wood products. "The way we get these materials hasn't changed in centuries and is very inefficient," Velásquez-García said. 5For example, the current process for making a wooden table can take many years. First, a tree has to grow. Then, it must be cut down, transported, processed, etc. Velásquez-García says lab-grown wood could combine all those steps into one. "If you want a table, then you should just grow a table," he said. 6The process is similar in some ways to lab produced meat, which is grown from live animal cells. But in the wood experiment, the MIT team collected live cells from the leaves of a zinnia plant. 7The plant cells were then cultured and kept in an environment designed to activate and support growth. "Plant cells are similar to stem cells in the sense that they can become anything if they are induced to," Velásquez-García said. 8The experiment was carried out indoors, without soil or sunlight. During the process, the researchers used a mixture of two plant hormones that helped the cells grow a thick, strong wood-like structure. With further development, the researchers say they could use the same process to grow wood in specific shapes, such as a table or chair. 9Ashley Beckwith is a doctoral student in mechanical engineering at MIT who led the research. She told MIT News she got the idea for the project while spending time on a farm. She said she wondered whether some of the inefficiencies present in agriculture could be improved through laboratory methods. 10"I wanted to find a more efficient way to use land and resources so that we could let more arable areas remain wild," Beckwith said. She says the experiment demonstrated that growing plant tissue in a lab could also have a big effect in agriculture. 11Like with wood production, the process could reduce the time and effort related to traditional agriculture methods. It could also remove difficulties linked to weather and seasonality in farming, Beckwith said. 12Such a lab-based farming method "promises to improve yields while reducing plant waste and competition for arable land," the research study states. 13David Stern is a plant biologist and president of the Boyce Thompson Institute. He was not involved in the study. He told MIT News one big question is whether the technology can be effectively scaled and remain economically competitive. 14Stern added that scaling up the method would require major financial and intellectual investments. And he said new issues would arise when bringing parts of forestry and agriculture into the lab. "Agriculture uses the sun's energy through photosynthesis, and...natural rainfall. It does not require buildings, heat, or artificial light," Stern said. 15Velásquez-García said his team will be working to improve the method, especially to learn how to better control the final materials that are produced. And, the researchers also want to carry out new experiments to see whether the same results can be reached with other kinds of plants. 16I'm Bryan Lynn. 17Bryan Lynn wrote this story, based on reports by MIT News and the Journal of Cleaner Production. Susan Shand was the editor. 18We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page. 19________________________________________________________________ 20Words in This Story 21concept - n. an idea of what something is or how it works 22inefficient - adj. not capable of producing the desired results without wasting time and energy 23culture - v. the beliefs, customs, arts of a particular group of people 24induce - v. to cause something to happen next 25hormone - n. a natural substance that is produced in the human body and determines how the body grows and develops 26arable - adj. suitable for farming 27yield - v. to produce something, such as crops 28scale - v. a range of levels from low to high 29photosynthesis - n. the plant process of deriving nutrients from the sun 30artificial - adj. not real, not alive