VML, Lab-Grown Leather Ltd., and The Organoid Company are teaming up to create a lab-made material they’re calling “T-Rex leather.” They say the process uses fossilized T-Rex collagen fragments (not DNA, despite some early claims) as a starting point.
How does it work? The Organoid Company rebuilds a complete collagen sequence by comparing these fragments to modern animals like chickens, then makes synthetic DNA to carry that code. This DNA is put into cells, which are grown using Lab-Grown Leather’s Advanced Tissue Engineering Platform (ATEP) in a “scaffold-free” way, where the cells build their own structure, like the skin’s dermis layer.
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The end product is meant to be a leather-like material that’s close to real leather, sold as eco-friendly, animal-free, and biodegradable, with plans for fancy items like handbags by late 2025 and possible use in cars later on.
There’s some doubt because no T-Rex skin samples are known to exist. Leather is made from skin, but the collagen we have comes from bones, and T-Rex skin impressions are rare and unclear. Without knowing exactly what T-Rex skin was like, saying they can recreate its leather is a big stretch.
Our proprietary advanced tissue engineering platform has once again proven its versatility. By collaborating with VML and The Organoid Company, we’re unlocking the potential to engineer leather from prehistoric species, starting with the formidable T-Rex. This venture showcases the power of cell-based technology to create materials that are both innovative and ethically sound,” Professor Che Connon of Lab-Grown Leather and Newcastle University.
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