Glasgow's MEM (GMEM) was originally developed by Ian McPherson and Michael Stoker as a modification of Eagle's Minimal Essential Medium. It was used to study the genetic factors that affected cell competence. Glasgow's MEM was developed for use with kidney cell lines, such as BHK-21.

The complete formulation is available.

Using Glasgow's MEM
Glasgow's MEM is unique from other media as it contains twice the concentration of amino acids and vitamins compared to the original Basal Medium Eagle, and is used without serum. Glasgow's MEM was originally formulated with 10% tryptose phosphate broth. Glasgow's MEM contains no proteins, lipids, or growth factors. Therefore, Glasgow's MEM requires supplementation with 10% tryptose phosphate broth. Glasgow's MEM uses a sodium bicarbonate buffer system (2.75 g/L), and therefore requires a 5–10% CO₂ environment to maintain physiological pH.