It started with a trip to a farmers market. Researchers from Oregon State University spotted packets of Pacific dulse, a reddish marine seaweed typically sold as a snack or salad ingredient, and wondered: could this ocean vegetable double as a scaffold for growing human heart cells? The answer, published this week in the journal Biointerphases, is a resounding yes. After stripping away the seaweed's own cells and leaving behind only its structural skeleton, the team successfully grew human cardiomyocytes (the muscle cells that power your heartbeat) on the repurposed marine scaffold.