You might have heard about meat without the animal; but have you heard about wood without the tree? In this episode we are introduced to the concept of lab-grown furniture, and in particular, lab-grown wood, by Ashley Beckwith, mechanical engineering PhD Candidate at MIT and Draper Scholar. Ashley is developing a novel method for producing wood by culturing Zinnia elegans plant cells into different desired shapes. Her work was published earlier this year in the Journal of Cleaner Production. Listen in to learn why lab-grown wood is needed, the myriad uses of wood, and the biological considerations when growing plant cells in a lab.
You might have heard about meat without the animal; but have you heard about wood without the tree? In this episode we are introduced to the concept of lab-grown furniture, and in particular, lab-grown wood, by Ashley Beckwith, mechanical engineering PhD Candidate at MIT and Draper Scholar. Ashley is developing a novel method for producing wood by culturing Zinnia elegans plant cells into different desired shapes. Her work was published earlier this year in the Journal of Cleaner Production. Listen in to learn why lab-grown wood is needed, the myriad uses of wood, and the biological considerations when growing plant cells in a lab.