As technology advances, researchers are managing to grow all sorts of weird things in their laboratories.

Human teeth are the latest, with experts suggesting they could be available in the next 20 years. Professor Pamela Yelick from Tufts University School of Dental Medicine in Boston said that while the teeth were “not perfect” in shape or size, the end product of the lab-grown gnashers will closely resemble natural teeth.

While the science is not ready for humans yet, there are plenty of example of lab-grown items that have been tested successfully with certain items raising more than a few eyebrows. From body parts and meat, we explore the strangest creations that have come from a laboratory…

In 2015, Australian researchers perfected a method of growing mini-human kidneys from stem cells for use in drug screening, disease modelling and cell therapy. Professor Melissa Little and her team from Murdoch Childrens Research Institute (MCRI) and The University of Queensland first grew a mini-kidney in a dish in 2013.

“The first mini-kidney we grew only contained two key cell types,” Professor Little said. “But the team have now grown an organ that forms all the cell types normally present in the human kidney.”

By adding different concentrations of growth factors at various times, researchers were able to guide the formation of the mini-organ in a process that mimics normal development. In Japan, researchers grew fully functioning kidneys and transplanted them into pigs and rats, where they worked normally.

Described as a “promising development”, the kidneys could be vital in increasing the number of organs available for transplant. They could also be a new way of testing drugs.

Dog food made from meat that was grown in factory vats has gone on sale in the UK in recent weeks. Supplier Meatly said the “chick bites” were the first pet food products made from cultivated meat to be sold commercially anywhere in the world.

It said the technology could eventually “eliminate farm animals from the pet food industry” and reduce carbon emissions as well as the use of land and water in meat production. A trial of the dog treats began at a pet store in Brentford, London, at the start of the month.

Owen Ensor, who founded London-based Meatly in 2022, said the manufacturing process was similar to brewing beer. He said: “You take cells from a single chicken egg. From that we can create an infinite amount of meat for evermore.

“We put it in large, steel fermenters… and after a week we’re able to harvest healthy, delicious chicken for our pets.”

Lab-grown meat has proved divisive in some countries. In 2020, Singapore became the first country to authorise the sale of cell-cultivated meat for human consumption, followed by the US three years later. Among those to have banned the cell-cultivated meat are Italy, and the US states of Florida and Alabama.

Prof Guy Poppy, from the University of Bristol, said it addressed concerns over animal welfare. The former chief scientific adviser at the government’s Food Standards Agency added: “This is an opportunity to offer the advantages of meat but without the carbon and environmental footprint.”

In 2013, a lab-grown hamburger rose to fame after food critic Hanni Ruetzler tasted it live. The burger cost a whopping £215,000 to create, grown in a lab by scientist Dr Mark Post who had dedicated his career to the cause of cultivated meat.

She cut into the burger, ignoring the bread, and placed a small bite in her mouth and chewed. As crowds gathered to watch her reaction, she described the flavour as “quite intense”.

“It’s close to meat. It’s not that juicy but the consistence is perfect.” She then added that she “missed salt and pepper”, much to the amusement of the studio audience.

The South African cultivated meat firm Mzansi Meat Co said the “industry is fairly new”. There are around 100 companies chiming in to the cultivated food space, growing lamb, duck, beef, chicken, fish and more.

Lab-grown diamonds have been around since 1954. The original idea was to offer low-cost alternatives to the typically pricey real deal gems.

Now, many people opt for lab-grown diamonds as a more ethical choice after the diamond mining industry faced allegations of child labour, exploitation, and unsafe working conditions. Lab diamonds typically cost between 60 percent and 85 percent less than a natural diamond, with identical carat weights and grades.

The demand for natural diamonds has decreased as lab-grown diamonds take over in popularity, with famous jeweller De Beers reporting a cut of more than 40 percent.

Lab-grown coral could be the key to saving the beautiful ocean landscape amid fears the ocean animal will completely die out by 2050. Coral – which roots to the sea floor – is being bred in a University of Derby lab more than 70 miles from the nearest coast.

Reefs are ecologically invaluable but have been deteriorating due to mass bleaching events, climate change and fishing. Dr Michael Sweet from the University is a leading coral researcher who created the technique.

It is estimated that by 2030 around 90 percent of reefs could be extinct. The annual process is rarely seen by humans, but the team at the University have been able to create a technique which encourages coral to breed as prompted.

The artificial technique involves matching the conditions of the tank to those where reefs are found in the wild and simulating the moon and sun cycles. After spawning scientists will then mix the eggs to enable them to fertilise.

Lead principal investigator of the Aquatic Research Facility at Derby University, Dr Sweet said: “You’ve got all the countries in the tropics that rely on healthy coral reefs for land protection, they reduce the impacts of waves, storms, hurricanes. If you lose those reefs, you’re going to see significant amounts of flooding, of coastal erosion. You’re going to get a huge displacement of people.”

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