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It will take a lot more than a single fungus to do the trick. Lactation and digestion in cows involve completely differently pathways. I am not sure why they in

It will take a lot more than a single fungus to do the trick. Lactation and digestion in cows involve completely differently pathways. I am not sure why they insist on fungus, perhaps they are referring to genetically engineered yeast? Milk is primarily suspended fat in water. What is possible is to use a bacteria/microbe to convert plant matter to fat first and then use traditional industrial machinery to disperse it into water. However, you still need to find a way to remove the fiber that remains. Perhaps using a squeezer to extract the fats. All these will not truly replace real dairy, the result will be more akin to almond milk. Also, 2.5 million is absolutely peanuts. You need at least a magnitude higher funding unless you plan to outsource everything to India. If you want an exact replica of the cow mammalian milk production process that is molecule-to-molecule compatible then you need at least two dozen tissue engineers. This is slightly beyond what a "fungus" to do.

Wheaties466 6y ago
I think they might be referring to yeast. I know thats how Impossible "cracked the code" to making heme. seems to be a very ambitious project but im hopeful! This makes me want to do more research into how Perfect Day makes their Lab dairy.
tom_mellior 6y ago
> Milk is primarily suspended fat in water. https://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=100+g+cow%27s+milk https://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=100+g+cow%27s+milk says it's primarily carbohydrates (7g/100g), protein (4g), and a bit of fat (2g) suspended in water. Also, the website is somewhat confusing, but poking around a bit it looks like they are targeting the production of protein (casein specifically), not fat. You may be attacking a strawman here... > You need at least a magnitude higher funding unless you plan to outsource everything to India. ... as well as a large fraction of the world's population, for no discernible reason.
- blacksmith_tb 6y ago
  Casein plays an important role in the meltiness of cheese[1] so it makes sense they'd want to replicate it (lots of almost-but-not-quite-vegan cheese alternatives like Trader Joe's almond cheese have ~1% casein in them for this reason). 1: https://www.finecooking.com/article/the-science-of-melting-cheese https://www.finecooking.com/article/the-science-of-melting-c...

Wheaties466 6y ago

I think they might be referring to yeast. I know thats how Impossible "cracked the code" to making heme. seems to be a very ambitious project but im hopeful! This makes me want to do more research into how Perfect Day makes their Lab dairy.

tom_mellior 6y ago

> Milk is primarily suspended fat in water. https://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=100+g+cow%27s+milk https://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=100+g+cow%27s+milk says it's primarily carbohydrates (7g/100g), protein (4g), and a bit of fat (2g) suspended in water. Also, the website is somewhat confusing, but poking around a bit it looks like they are targeting the production of protein (casein specifically), not fat. You may be attacking a strawman here... > You need at least a magnitude higher funding unless you plan to outsource everything to India. ... as well as a large fraction of the world's population, for no discernible reason.

blacksmith_tb 6y ago
Casein plays an important role in the meltiness of cheese[1] so it makes sense they'd want to replicate it (lots of almost-but-not-quite-vegan cheese alternatives like Trader Joe's almond cheese have ~1% casein in them for this reason). 1: https://www.finecooking.com/article/the-science-of-melting-cheese https://www.finecooking.com/article/the-science-of-melting-c...