Pint Of Science - Brewing a Pint with Proteins
From 18 May 26 7:00 PM to 18 May 26 9:30 PM
From guilt-free burgers to bioengineered structural proteins: discover how science is reshaping food and medicine. Learn how brewing waste could help grow realistic cultivated meat, and how bacteria can “brew” silk-like structural proteins for medical materials. Two talks explore how nature-inspired innovation could make our world more sustainable, delicious, and healthier.
From Pints to Proteins
Christian Harrison (PhD Student in the Day Lab at University College London)
Imagine biting into a juicy hamburger that never required a farm, slaughterhouse or hefty carbon footprint. ‘Cultivated’ meat - real meat grown from animal cells - is becoming reality, but one big challenge is getting the texture right. I’m researching how to turn waste from the beer-making industry into ‘scaffolding’ for cultivated meat. By recycling brewing leftovers, we could create more realistic, affordable and sustainable steaks. Find out how your next pint could be the key to guilt-free dinners!
Brewing biomaterials: silk and beyond
Lillian Yufeng Wang (PhD student in the Lopez-Barreiro lab at University College London)
For thousands of years, silk has been prized for its strength and versatility. Today, we can go further — using genetic engineering to “brew” silk-like proteins in bacteria. Combining silk with natural proteins like elastin (which keeps our skin stretchy), we create materials that are strong, flexible, biodegradable, and biocompatible. Come along to discover how these nature-inspired proteins could improve medical care. (Spoiler alert: they can even kill bugs!)