'Test tube' hamburger has Bay Area ties

The first hamburger grown in a lab has a Bay Area connection. The project was secretly backed by a Bay Area tech titan.

The meat was grown using the stem cells of cows. Researchers at Maastricht University in the Netherlands hope the process could eventually help feed the world and fight climate change. They say cells taken from just one cow could produce 175 million burgers.

Google co-founder Sergey Brin revealed for the first time today he funded $330,000 project.

"Some people think this is science fiction; it's not real, it's somewhere out there," Brin said. "I actually think that's a good thing. If what you're doing is seen by some people as science fiction, it's probably not transformative enough."

Volunteers say the burger had the texture of meat, but because there was no fat, it didn't have enough flavor.

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