SCIENCE CATCHES UP TO SF--AGAIN!

And now, a few items to prove that real science is overtaking science fiction at an astounding rate.

Remember that scene in the episode of Star Trek, The Original Series, when Captain Kirk steps to a bank of receptacles in the wall and orders a chicken sandwich and coffee from the replicator (only to be served a plateful of fluffy Tribbles)? Well, a similar food reproduction system may be coming to an automat near you (without the furry interlopers, of course).

So close to replicator tech--just leave out the tribbles.

Catherine Lamb reports in TheSpoon.tech that the Israeli company Redefine Meat has developed a 3D printer that can produce a beef-like meat substance from plant-based materials. The company can build the printer for the relatively low cost of $100k. The idea would be to sell the machine, then supply the buyer (food distributors or producers, for example) with plant-based material packs to make the meat products. Currently Redefine Meat is focused on beef, but is researching how to create tuna, pork and other “flavors” as well.

Why stop there? “Replicated” vegetables and grains would be just as desirable in space, or even in isolated environments on earth where storage and/or refrigeration space is at a premium—the research stations at Antarctica, for example, or on remote islands. And imagine the advantages on the International Space Station, or if we establish an outpost on the moon or on Mars.

Of course, we Trekkers are not surprised that the writers who envisioned the cellphone, the iPad and the MRI would inspire yet another tech marvel. But, hey, I never really thought I would be clairvoyant when it came to the science in my books.

My Interstellar Rescue series characters use a system of stable wormholes to get around the galaxy. The entrances/exits to these tunnels in space/time are called Jump Nodes in the books and act on surrounding space like mini-black holes. In the series, one of these Jump Nodes exists on the very edge of our own solar system, hidden from our technology, but making Earth an easy target for the slave-trading bad-guy aliens. 

 

A stable wormhole--the jump node method of interstellar travel.

Well, guess what? Scientists have found a mysterious object they have tagged “Planet 9” in the outer reaches of our solar system. Some scientists believe the object may be what is known as a “primordial black hole,” that is, one formed in the aftermath of the Big Bang. The hole, if it exists, may be no bigger than a bowling ball and would not be detectable by visible-light or infrared telescopes. Scientists arguing for the existence of the object base their hypothesis on anomalies in the orbits of asteroids, comets and other bodies beyond Neptune, according to the report in NBCNews.com. The only problem is, no primordial black holes have ever been seen before, though they theoretically might exist.

An alternate explanation would be that a huge, undetected planet is causing the gravitational variations. Says a coauthor of the study, James Unwin of the University of Illinois at Chicago, “The discovery of a giant planet in the outer solar system would be an extraordinary discovery. But the discovery of a primordial black hole would be immense and even more spectacular.”

Yes. But a Jump Node leading to another, inhabited, sector of the galaxy? Well, that discovery would really blow our minds, now wouldn’t it? 

 HAPPY BOOK BIRTHDAYS TO MY CO-BLOGGERS 

Congratulations to both Sharon Lynn Fisher for the debut this week of The Absinthe Earl (The Faery Rehistory Series Book 1) and to Laurie Green and her co-authors for the fabulous success of Pets in Space® 4. If you haven’t gotten your copies of these great books (one a fantasy/alternate history romance, the other a continuation of the SFR series), better get in line.

Cheers, Donna

 Information for this post drawn from: "Redefine Meat Raises $6M for 3D Printed Meat   Alternatives." by Catherine Lamb, TheSpoon.tech, September 11, 2019.

"Our solar system's mysterious 'Planet 9' may actually be a tiny, ancient black hole," by Denise Chow, NBCNews.com, October 2, 2019.

MEAT WITHOUT THE ANIMAL IN OUR FUTURE?

Those of us who still enjoy an occasional steak or a night out at the sushi bar may find our indulgences come with a hefty portion of guilt. If we’re not worried about our waistlines or our arteries from the beef, or our livers from the mercury in the fish, we’re forced to ignore the environmental impacts of our dietary habits as we eat.

After all, livestock are said to be responsible for up to 15 percent of all greenhouse gas emissions worldwide, and that’s not even accounting for the amount of land that is cleared to make way for pasture for the animals. Aggressive overfishing is rapidly depleting the supplies of the tastiest fish that land on our tables, including most species of tuna.

Of course, we could all make the difficult decision to become vegan or vegetarian. (I can hear the groans as I type.) But what is a confirmed carnivore to do?

Science (and commerce, naturally) to the rescue! The Atlantic reports that there are companies out there working hard to grow beef, chicken and even fish that will look, smell and taste like the real thing—in a lab. In fact, the meat will be the real thing, cells taken from living animals grown in a medium of protein, vitamins and sugar; it just won’t have been harvested from once-living animals raised in a factory and slaughtered cruelly on an assembly line. (And, yes, I know there are alternatives to the factory-farm model of livestock-rearing. Buying your meat and eggs directly from local compassionate farmers helps, but not every meat-eater can do that.)

CEO Josh Tetrick of Just Foods, which is working on a chicken-less egg and, uh, an egg-less chicken, and Michael Selden, co-founder of Finless Foods, which is working on a cell-based fish product, are two pioneers on this frontier, according to The Atlantic. But they’ve faced not only criticism from market-watchers, but also technical challenges in their work. Taste is relatively easy, but texture is a big obstacle. Even adults are used to a certain “mouth-feel” with our food; if it looks like a chicken nugget, but feels like a gummy bear in our mouths, we’re likely to revert to angry-toddler status.

Then there is the matter of price. Few grocery shoppers will choose the “greener” alternative if it costs twice as much as plain old bird. Both companies are working to lower costs, particularly by lowering the cost of the nutrient medium and increasing the scale of production.

But perhaps the biggest issue of all is selling the idea of meat without the animal to a human race only a few millennia removed from its hunter-gatherer origins. What do you even call the stuff? Cell-based meat? (All tissue is essentially cell-based, so . . .) Artificial meat? (I think we had that years ago in my school cafeteria.) Lab-grown meat? (Ackk!) One thing is certain, the U.S. Cattlemen’s Association has argued that nothing should be labeled “beef” that hasn’t stood on four hooves out in a pasture somewhere, mooing loudly.

Josh Tetrick recognizes the labeling problem as central to his marketing strategy. “Back in Alabama, where all my old friends drive pickup trucks, imagine if Tesla put out a really fast, really affordable pickup truck, but Tesla couldn’t call it a pickup truck,” he said. “On the back, they had to say, like, ‘Electric mobility transport wheeler,’ or some godforsaken name. My friends do not want to drive that, because it [messes] with their identity, unfortunately.” Those same friends would be unlikely to choose “lab-grown” burgers for their weekend barbecue.

Yet both Tetrick and Seldon can envision a future where meat and fish grown in huge factory vats is the norm rather than the exception. In that future, livestock grown for slaughter and fish caught in nets on the ocean will be a part of our barbaric past, or practices relegated to aboriginal tribes for their sustenance only. As writers of speculative fiction, it shouldn’t be too hard for us to imagine this future ourselves. In fact, it’s exciting to think we could be part of making it happen.

Cheers, Donna

Information for this post taken from “The Coming Obsolescence of Animal Meat,” by Olga Kazan, The Atlantic, April 16, 2019.