Meet the 17-year-old scientist engineering tomatoes to taste like meat, and why her experiment could matter
Gabriella Rothberg, a 17-year-old student from Miami, is developing genetically engineered tomatoes designed to produce heme, a molecule associated with meat flavour. Her project could have nutritional applications, but its taste and health benefits remain unproven.
Seventeen-year-old Gabriella Rothberg is engineering tomatoes to produce a meat-like flavor through her biotechnology project, Impossible Vines. The teenager from Miami is collaborating with a doctoral candidate to genetically modify tomato plants to create heme, a compound associated with the taste of meat. Rothberg's father, biotechnology entrepreneur Jonathan Rothberg, is named as an inventor on a U.S. patent issued in June 2026, which describes methods for engineering vegetables to produce heme.
The project aims to change what the plant produces, rather than transforming it into a meat substitute. Heme contributes to the flavor of meat and is used in plant-based meat alternatives. Rothberg hopes the technology could help make certain nutrients more accessible, particularly for pregnant women in developing countries. The research encountered challenges, including incorrect vitamin concentrations in the growth medium, which were later corrected.
As the project progresses, further work is required to establish the tomatoes' flavor, nutritional value, safety, and commercial viability.
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