Scientists are reporting development of a new approach for producing large quantities of human-derived（导出的，衍生的） gelatin（明胶，动物胶） that could become a substitute for some of the 300,000 tons of animal-based gelatin produced annually¹ for gelatin-type desserts, marshmallows（棉花糖） , candy and innumerable other products. Their study appears in ACS's Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry. Jinchun Chen and colleagues explain that animal-based gelatin, which is made most often from the bones and skin of cows and pigs, may carry a risk of infectious diseases such as "Mad Cow" disease and could provoke（驱使，激怒） immune system responses in some people. Animal-based gelatin has other draw-backs, with variability from batch² to batch, for instance, creating difficulties for manufacturers. Scientists thus have sought alternatives, including development of a human-recombinant gelatin for potential use in drug capsules（胶囊） and other medical applications.

To get around these difficulties, the scientists developed and demonstrated a method where human gelatin genes³ are inserted into a strain of yeast⁴（酵母） , which can produce gelatin with controllable features. The researchers are still testing the human-yeast gelatin to see how well it compares to other gelatins in terms of its viscosity⁵（粘性，粘度） and other attributes. Chen and colleagues suggest that their method could be scaled up to produce large amounts of gelatin for commercial use.