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The European Space Agency’s Gaia observatory has produced the most accurate map of the Milky Way, with the position and motion of almost 2 billion stars being used to better understand our galaxy’s present and past. However, teams are now looking at the future. One of them aims to conduct a follow-up mission that can re-observe what Gaia has seen and see where Gaia couldn’t, going into the infrared.The incredible work of Gaia is ongoing – thanks to Gaia, for example, we know that the Milky Way absorbed several smaller galaxies many billion years ago – but with time the map will become more imprecise. In a few decades' time, it will no longer be good enough for the kind of work that the spacecraft has gotten astronomers used to.GaiaNIR (NIR stands for near-infrared) allows the observatory to see through the dust that features in the plane of the Milky Way. It will allow a better understanding of the dynamical processes at the core, in regions with a lot of star formation, and expand the measured number of stars by a factor of six if not ten.“Even though Gaia is very brilliant and is revolutionizing everything, it's really only measuring 1 percent of the galaxy,” GaiaNIR proposer Professor David Hobbs, from the University of Lund, told IFLScience. “The important thing about infrared, of course, is that all of the really dynamically interesting parts of the galaxy, they're all lying in the galactic plane, and this is where all the dust is as well. Gaia is very good at seeing out of the galaxy, but it's actually not that very good at seeing into the galaxy. It needs, in a sense, a pair of glasses to see through the dust, and that's what the near-infrared detectors will allow.”Not to be all Annie Get Your Gun about it, but the proposal sees GaiaNIR being able to do anything Gaia can do but better. We won’t be throwing away the incredible work done by Gaia – actually, building on it with a new mission is expected to push the precision up by a factor of 15. Such precision has long been sought in astrometry but it has remained elusive due to many challenges.The team also hopes to include new instruments such as a spectrograph to gain even more insights into the stars and other objects that GaiaNIR will measure. Gaia has let scientists discover black holes, asteroids, and moons of asteroids, on top of measuring the position of stars and distant galaxies. It’s crucial to keep measuring many of these systems, as their motion changes in ways we can’t predict.“If you don't keep measuring them, they won't be where you think they are in 20 years time,” Professor Hobbs continued. “The problem with this kind of mission is it's very hard to summarize how many interesting things there are because there are so many of them. I mean, I can list off case after case after case, but there are just so many different cases.”With boundless potential for discovery, the mission proposals for GaiaNIR hope for such a mission to be picked up. If it is selected, it will be sent into space in the 2040s, building on the still-growing legacy of its predecessor. Professor Hobbs presented details of the proposal at the XXXII International Astronomical Union General Assembly in Cape Town. 

Contrary to what many of us thought, great white sharks are not made up of a single species but are actually separated into three distinct populations that inhabit different parts of the world’s oceans. The results raise concerns for conservationists, as it seems these distinct populations rarely interbreed.The discovery was made by an international team of scientists who applied new advanced genome analysis to white sharks from around the world. They found that the three distinct geographic lineages separated between 100,000 and 200,000 years ago, during the Penultimate Glacial Period, and each inhabits waters in the south Pacific Ocean (Indo-Pacific), northern Pacific Ocean, and in the North Atlantic and Mediterranean, respectively.Despite their global distribution, previous research into the molecular population of white sharks has been limited to opportunistic sampling from single ocean basins or regions. In addition, most of these relied on an analysis of “microsatellites”, repetitive segments of DNA that repeat multiple times at specific points in a genome, and small fragments of the mitochondrial control region, which controls RNA and DNA synthesis.However, the focus on these markers created a confusing picture that appeared to be unhelpful for understanding recent connectivity between white shark populations. As such, the researchers in this study turned to high-resolution genome-wide markers – something called single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) – which provided a reliable and reproducible image of the situation that revealed the three distinct lineages.This discovery is more than a curiosity about an (in)famous marine species – it also highlights a significant conservation problem.  Crucially, the researchers found that the sharks do not interact with those from other populations. This means the global population of white sharks is actually at a greater risk of extinction than previously thought, as a loss in any lineage is unlikely to be recovered through interbreeding.“If all the white sharks belonged to a single large, integrated global population, it would not matter so much if they vanished from a specific area,” Dr Catherine Jones, the study’s lead researcher at the University of Aberdeen, explained in a statement.“But if white sharks comprise separate genetically distinct populations, such as in the Mediterranean, and this were lost, unique genetic diversity would also be lost.”The research demonstrates the need to understand the distribution and health of these different groups of sharks if they are to be protected in the future.“Successful conservation requires recognition of management units, but this has been unavailable for white sharks, which were suspected to exist as a single global population,” Les Noble, Professor of Aquatic Biosciences at Nord University in Norway, added.“Although not widely appreciated man’s future is increasingly bound up with that of white sharks. As top predators they play a crucial role in maintaining the health and diversity of local marine ecosystems which are responsible for 20 percent of protein in our diet. In the last 50 years white shark abundance has almost halved, and it is recognized as critically endangered in Europe.”If recent forecasts are correct, then we may see changes in the strength and direction of the major ocean currents within the next 50 years. If this happens, then it could lead to the breakdown of the geographic boundaries between these shark lineages, which could lead to more unproductive mating, further endangering white sharks along with the overall diversity, health, and productivity of the world’s oceans.“It has long been considered that sharks lost from one area would be compensated for with the movement and matings of sharks from other locations. Our findings suggest this is clearly unlikely and this, together with bycatch fishing, depletion of their food reserves, pollution, and poaching, could put this iconic apex predator in real danger of extinction,” Jones concluded.The study is published in Current Biology. 

Archaeologists have been furiously digging to unearth a stunning mastodon skeleton in Iowa. It’s the first time that well-preserved remains of the prehistoric beast have been scientifically excavated in the state – and what a beauty it is.Researchers at the University of Iowa Office of the State Archaeologist were first contacted in the fall of 2022 after a local resident of Wayne County stumbled across a strange, long bone poking out of the creek bed. A preliminary probe revealed that the bone was the femur of an extinct mastodon. They also discovered part of a tusk, which they believed to be still attached to the skull, sparking interest in a full scientific investigation. After securing the necessary funds, archaeologists returned to the site in August 2024 and commenced a 12-day dig, excavating the skull and several more bones. Look at the size of this thing!Image credit: Kirk Murray/University of Iowa Office of the State ArchaeologistTheir radiocarbon dating of the remains suggests the mastodon lived around 13,600 years ago, roaming North America towards the end of the last Ice Age when the animals fell into extinction.Mastodons were large mammals similar to both modern-day elephants and mammoths that stomped around North America from around 3.5 million years ago until 10,500 years ago. One of the key differences between mastodons and mammoths was their teeth: mastodon teeth had unusual cusps specially adapted for eating woody plants, while mammoths possessed teeth that were flatter and ridged, perfect for munching grasses.    The discovery in Iowa is especially exciting as it coincides with the era in which humans had settled in the region. This overlap is significant because it's well-documented that mastodons were hunted and butchered by these early inhabitants of North America. The archaeologists have already discovered several human-made artifacts at the site, including stone tools. While they are a few thousand years younger than the mastodon skull, it hints that some fascinating discoveries could be revealed by further research.“We’re really hoping to find evidence of human interaction with this creature — perhaps the projectile points and knives that were used to kill the animal and do the initial butchering. There’s also potential evidence on the bones themselves — there could be identifiable cut marks,” John Doershuk of the University of Iowa Office of the State Archaeologist (OSA) said in a statement.Once it's been fully studied and preserved, OSA is planning on putting the bones on display at the Prairie Trails Museum in Corydon for the public to peruse.

Hydrated metals have been detected on the surface of the asteroid Psyche. The observations, made with JWST, raise some big questions for the mission named after the asteroid, which hopefully will be settled when the spacecraft reaches its target.At 222 kilometers (178 miles) wide, 16 Psyche is the 16th largest member of the asteroid belt (not the reason for its number), but its importance is greater than that. Where larger counterparts are mostly composed of silicates and carbonates, Psyche is the Solar System’s largest M-type asteroid, the most metal-rich category. Although expected to be predominantly nickel-iron, Psyche also contains large quantities of precious metals close to the surface. This sometimes leads to absurd headlines listing a value greater than the global economy, forgetting the fact that if we could mine its contents the sudden abundance of these metals would cause prices to crash. Recent re-estimates of Psyche’s density have also cast doubt on just how metal-rich it may be.Planetary scientists think Psyche’s true gold is the information it can offer, suspecting it is the surviving core of a protoplanet destroyed in a collision with an object of similar size. If so, it could teach us a lot about the cores of surviving inner planets, including our own, although alternative origin stories have also been proposed. The discovery of molecules combining water with metals at its surface could have implications for the source of Earth’s own water.Using JWST, a team of astronomers led by Dr Stephanie Jarmak, formerly of Southwest Research Institute (SwRI), found Psyche is absorbing light with a wavelength of 3-µm. This wavelength is associated with OH (hydroxyl) components of molecules, either when bonded to metals, or in water. With Psyche being so iron-rich, it is likely much of what was detected is iron hydroxides like Fe(OH)3, familiar as a component of rust.However, water produces a 6-µm line not seen by JWST or previous observations. Consequently, the authors conclude there cannot be more than 39 parts per million water on Psyche’s surface. That’s pretty dry – the Moon is 100-400 ppm, thought to be from hydrogen brought by the solar wind.Psyche gets too much sunlight for ice to survive on its surface, but exposed water-bearing minerals are a different matter, along with metals that have reacted with past water.One explanation for the presence of these hydroxides is that water was brought to Psyche on carbonaceous chondrite asteroids, which are known to carry it. These asteroids are common in the main asteroid belt, and it is to be expected some would collide with Psyche. Whether this happens often enough to account for what has been observed is uncertain, however.The alternative theory is that Psyche formed beyond the Solar System’s "snow line", where temperatures are low enough for ice to survive on objects, as seen with the outer planets. How Psyche migrated from there to its current orbit is unknown, but if this version is correct, it must have preserved some water in the process. In this scenario, Psyche is not the left-over core of a protoplanet after all.This debate mimics the long-standing one about Earth’s water. Was it all brought here by comets and asteroids, or did it survive deep in the mantle when the surface was magma and subsequently escape through volcanoes? If we can answer the question for Psyche, it may help us solve the issue closer to home.“Our understanding of Solar System evolution is closely tied to interpretations of asteroid composition, particularly the M-class asteroids that contain higher concentrations of metal,” Jarmak said in a statement. The Psyche mission is almost a third of the way on its journey to check the asteroid out, and will no doubt answer many questions. However, it is not able to measure spectra longer than 1.1 µm. “Using telescopes at different wavelengths of infrared light, the SwRI-led research will provide different but complementary information to what the Psyche spacecraft is designed to study,” said Dr Tracy Becker.The study is to be published in the Planetary Science Journal and a preprint is available on arXiv.org.

Harley-Davidson has pulled back on some of its Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives after facing intense online pressure from its customer base. In a one-page statement shared on X, the motorcycle manufacturer announced that it has “not operated a DEI function since April 2024, and we do not have a DEI function today.” Harley-Davidson further wrote that it would not implement “hiring quotas” and “supplier diversity spend goals,” both of which were initially part of the company’s hiring practices. The company is also doing away with racial- and gender-segregated “Business Employee Resource Groups,” or BERGs. Instead, it promised to exclusively focus on “professional development, networking and mentoring.” Harley-Davidson’s move followed podcast host Robby Starbuck’s exposé into the company’s leftist initiatives, which Starbuck said included forcing its 1,800 employees to undergo training on how to be allies of the LGBTQ+. Moreover, he also wrote that the company bafflingly hosted an all-age pride event that featured a “rage room” adjacent to a drag queen story time for children.  It’s time to expose Harley Davidson.@harleydavidson has been one of the most beloved brands in America but recently on CEO Jochen Zeitz’s watch, they’ve gone totally woke. Here’s some of what we found: • Openly supports “the equality act" which would allow men into girl’s… pic.twitter.com/15kPUy8WVY — Robby Starbuck (@robbystarbuck) July 23, 2024 Indirectly addressing the backlash, Harley-Davidson claimed it was “saddened by the negativity on social media over the last few weeks, designed to divide the Harley-Davidson community.” It suggested that it took the scandal “very seriously.” Starbuck’s video calling out Harley-Davidson for its woke policies has garnered nearly 3 million views on X. “To put it mildly, Harley Davidson seems to have forgotten who their core customers are,” Starbuck wrote above the video.  The motorcycle company pledged to review “all sponsorship and organizations” it is affiliated with and claimed it “will not participate in HRC scoring going forward.” One of Starbuck’s accusations against Harley-Davidson was that it partnered with the Human Rights Campaign for the infamous Corporate Equality Index. Harley-Davidson is the third major U.S. company that Starbuck has investigated in recent months. Tractor Supply and manufacturer John Deere both pledged to make changes after Starbuck released separate videos delving into the two companies’ policies. Prior Coverage:  WATCH: Robby Starbuck BLASTS John Deere for Massive Betrayal Conservatives are under attack. Contact your representatives and demand that Big Tech be held to account to mirror the First Amendment while providing transparency, clarity on hate speech and equal footing for conservatives. If you have been censored, contact us using CensorTrack’s contact form, and help us hold Big Tech accountable.

The media’s relentless astro-turfing of support for Kamala Harris went into overdrive on the first night of the DNC. Either somebody from the campaign distributed talking points to the media, or else everyone at CNN, MSNBC, and the broadcast networks (ABC, CBS, and NBC) independently rediscovered the word “electric” at exactly the same time. Since becoming her party’s presumptive nominee, Kamala Harris has enjoyed all of the fawning press a Democratic candidate ought to expect during an election year. When Republicans attacked her far-left record as a Senator, the media responded by indignantly screeching that she was actually a “moderate.” When an NYT/Siena indicated she led Trump in some swing-states, the newscasters spent an entire day marveling at her incredible “momentum.” And now that she’s at the DNC to accept her party’s nomination, the we’re seeing a suspiciously uniform claim across both cable and broadcast networks that the energy at the convention is “electric.” We’ve seen the media reading verbatim from DNC-prescribed talking points before, so it’s no wonder that they’re doing the same thing here. But they could at least try to be a little more subtle about it. Here’s a quote the DNC gave to Politico yesterday: We are proud of the electric atmosphere in our convention hall and proud that our convention is showcasing the broad and diverse coalition behind the Harris-Walz ticket throughout the week on and off the stage. What a coincidence!

A self-described “fearful” Michael Kosta welcomed Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to Monday’s edition of The Daily Show on Comedy Central on night one of the Democratic National Convention from Chicago to implore her and other Democrats to have a long-term strategy against Donald Trump. Kosta feared that Trump will eventually figure out how to campaign against Harris and worried Democrats are too busy falling in love with Harris to know how to adapt, “There is a lot of energy for Kamala right now. There's a lot of momentum. I’m fearful, though, I'm fearful that Democrats aren't thinking a few steps ahead. Trump is throwing his tantrums, he's mad that she is doing well. But you know, he's a competitor. He is going to pivot. He is going to come back with something. Are the Dems strategizing many steps ahead?”     Instead of trying to immediately alleviate his fears, Whitmer tried to dunk on Trump, “I believe so, but what are you anticipating? What is he going to do in a couple of weeks? I mean, I think he is sitting at home watching the energy, the enthusiasm, the optimism that’s going to come out of this week, and I think it is going to hurt his brain.” Kosta doubled down, “Yeah, well, it is – Okay! Okay. Let's hope that happens. Let's prepare for him to get his head on straight and stop throwing a tantrum like a 4-year-old. He's acting like a 4-year-old. Eventually, they calm down and they figure out the weak spot. So, I'm just hoping the Dems — are you — you are a co-chair on Kamala's campaign? Are you strategizing, are you talking long term?” This time Whitmer was more sober, “Yeah. Well, I mean, Michigan is Michigan. There's Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Michigan. These are the swingiest of states. And we are going to decide the outcome of the election. We have got to show up, got to do the work, we got to be in all 83 counties. We cannot write off a place because it looks Republican in past elections. We're going to show up and we are going to pull people in because this—” As the audience cheered, Kosta and Whitmer agreed that “showing up” was an important part of that strategy. The fact that a comedy show would feel the need to urge a party to have a better campaign strategy might seem odd, but The Daily Show exists first and foremost to help Democrats. Here is a transcript for the August 19 show: Comedy Central The Daily Show 8/19/2024 11:28 PM ET MICHAEL KOSTA: There is a lot of energy for Kamala right now. There's a lot of momentum. I’m fearful, though, I'm fearful that Democrats aren't thinking a few steps ahead. Trump is throwing his tantrums, he's mad that she is doing well. But you know, he's a competitor. He is going to pivot. He is going to come back with something. Are the Dems strategizing many steps ahead? GRETCHEN WHITMER: I believe so, but what are you anticipating? KOSTA: I mean, what? Are you kidding me? WHITMER: What is he going to do in a couple of weeks? I mean, I think he is sitting at home watching the energy, the enthusiasm, the optimism that’s going to come out of this week, and I think it is going to hurt his brain.  KOSTA: Yeah, well, it is – Okay! Okay. Let's hope that happens. Let's prepare for him— WHITMER: Yes. KOSTA: — to get his head on straight and stop throwing a tantrum like a 4-year-old. He's acting like a 4-year-old. Eventually, they calm down and they figure out the weak spot. So, I'm just hoping the Dems — are you — you are a co-chair on Kamala's campaign? WHITMER: I am. KOSTA: Are you strategizing, are you talking long term? WHITMER: Yeah. Well, I mean, Michigan is Michigan. There's Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Michigan. These are the swingiest of states. KOSTA: Yes. Yes. WHITMER: And we are going to decide the outcome of the election. We have got to show up, got to do the work, we got to be in all 83 counties. KOSTA: Right. WHITMER: We cannot write off a place because it looks Republican in past elections. We're going to show up and we are going to pull people in because this – KOSTA: Show up. WHITMER: Showing up.