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Supported by multiple grants from the U.S. National Science Foundation, researchers have comprehensively characterized the properties of a unique type of skeletal tissue with the potential for advancing tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. The tissue, called “lipocartilage,” is packed with fat-filled cells that provide stable internal support so the tissue remains soft and springy like bubbled packaging material.

The fat-filled cells in lipocartilage are called “lipochondrocytes,” which were first recognized in 1854 by Franz Leydig. The tissue is unlike most other types of cartilage, which rely on an external cellular matrix for strength. Led by the University of California, Irvine, the research team showed how lipocartilage cells create and maintain their own lipid reservoirs, remaining constant in size. Unlike other fat cells, lipochondrocytes never shrink or expand in response to food availability. The study was published in Science.

“Lipocartilage’s resilience and stability provide a compliant, elastic quality that’s perfect for flexible body parts such as earlobes or the tip of the nose, opening exciting possibilities in regenerative medicine and tissue engineering, particularly for facial defects or injuries,” says Maksim Plikus, a UC Irvine professor and author on the paper.

“Currently, cartilage reconstruction often requires harvesting tissue from the patient’s rib — a painful and invasive procedure. In the future, patient-specific lipochondrocytes could be derived from stem cells, purified and used to manufacture living cartilage tailored to

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NSF-DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory, funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation and the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science, has achieved a major milestone with the installation of the Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST) Camera on the telescope. With the final optical component in place, NSF-DOE Rubin Observatory enters the final phase of testing before capturing the long-awaited and highly anticipated “first look” images, followed by the start of the Legacy Survey of Space and Time.

In early March, the NSF-DOE Rubin Observatory team on Cerro Pachón in Chile lifted the car-sized LSST Camera into position on the Simonyi Survey Telescope. This milestone is a significant step forward in the decades-long story of the LSST Camera’s design, construction and transport to Chile. 

Rubin Observatory is jointly funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation and the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science. Rubin Observatory is a joint program of NSF NOIRLab and DOE’s SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, who will cooperatively operate Rubin.

“This is the last major step in the construction of one of the most ambitious scientific facilities ever created,” said NSF Director Sethuraman Panchanathan. “It’s a testament to the technical prowess and dedication of the entire NSF-DOE Rubin Observatory team — and the scientific community that has been striving to get to this point for over two decades.”

“The installation of the LSST Camera

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