Good morning. It's Thursday, Aug. 13, and astronomers have found a very, very, very distant galaxy that resembles ours. Have feedback? Let us know at [email protected].

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NEED TO KNOW

Lockdown Returns to New Zealand

New Zealand placed its largest city under lockdown yesterday after the country confirmed its first outbreak of the coronavirus in more than 100 days. At least four members of a family in Auckland have tested positive, with two of the patients having recently traveled to a tourist destination 100 miles away, expanding the geographical scope of a potential outbreak. Schools, businesses, and restaurants were abruptly closed in the city of 1.7 million. New Zealand has been lauded for its aggressive approach to containing the virus early in the pandemic, having reported just over 1,500 total cases and only 22 deaths to date. Officials are investigating whether the virus arrived via refrigerated freight.  

Meanwhile, in the US, biotech firm Moderna signed a $1.5B deal with the government to deliver 100 million doses of a potential vaccine, assuming the drugs are proven safe and effective. Moderna partnered with the National Institutes of Health to develop the vaccine and already received $900M in federal funding. 

The US has reported nearly 5.2 million total coronavirus cases as of this morning, with 166,027 deaths. See how your state is doing here. Finally, did you see the report that neck gaiters are worse than nothing at stopping the coronavirus? Not so fast.

A Galaxy Far, Far Away

Astronomers have identified the most distant Milky Way-like galaxy ever observed, according to research released yesterday. Because it is located roughly 12 billion light-years away, the light reaching Earth provides a view of what the galaxy looked like 12 billion years ago—or when the universe was just 10% of its current age. To even spot the galaxy, an effect known as gravitational lensing—where an in-between galaxy acts as a magnifying glass—was required.

Prevailing theories suggest young, star-forming galaxies are chaotic and unstable, having been created by supernova explosions and the merger of other galaxies (see 101). Surprisingly, the new galaxy, formally named SPT0418–47, appears calm and well-ordered, despite its young age, and has the Milky Way's disk-and-bulge structure (see image). The findings will shape scientists' understanding of how galaxies form and evolve.

For fun, check out one of our favorite visualizations on the size of space.

Big 12 Stays the Course

The Big 12 Conference announced yesterday it will continue with plans to hold a fall athletic season, including college football, despite coronavirus fears. The surprising decision comes one day after two other Power Five conferences, the Big Ten and Pac-12, said they would cancel the fall season. The final two, the ACC and SEC, have yet to announce any changes. Big 12 officials have built in time to reassess the situation, releasing an updated football schedule that has conference play beginning Sept. 26, with teams playing a single nonconference game beforehand.    

College football is the primary moneymaker for the athletic departments at the 64 (65, if you count unaligned Notre Dame) Power Five schools. Some analyses estimate the schools would lose $1.2B on ticketing revenues alone. At Big 12 powerhouse Texas, football revenue supports nearly 75% of the athletic department budget. 

Some are pushing for football season to begin in January, though the proposal faces many challenges.

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IN THE KNOW

Sports, Entertainment, & Culture

Brought to you by CanvasPeople

> Several newspapers owned by Tribune Publishing, including NYC’s Daily News, will close newsrooms permanently (More) | Princess Diana musical will be first ever to premiere on Netflix before opening on Broadway (More)

> Sumner Redstone, media tycoon whose vast entertainment empire included ViacomCBS and Paramount Pictures, dies at 97 (More)

> Golf’s Masters Tournament, rescheduled from April to November, will be held without fans or guests (More) | Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones says fans will be able to attend games in-person this year (More)

Weddings, graduations, vacations: We’ve taken some excellent photos over the years (pats own back). And now, we’ve discovered a way to bring beautiful photos from the camera roll to the living room. CanvasPeople prints your favorite images onto high-quality canvases. And today only, they’re giving 1440 readers one free 11x14 canvas print (over $80 in value), just pay S&H. Create yours now. #Ad

Science & Technology

> Researchers link the decreased production of a liver protein known as Reelin to the mitigation or even elimination of some multiple sclerosis-like symptoms in mice (More)

> New crystal-filled inks shown to suppress the "coffee ring effect," where inks dry quicker at the edges than the center of a pattern; solving the problem is key to advancing 2D printable electronic circuits (More)

> Electron microscopy of a common razor blade in action reveals how single hairs can deform steel, providing insight into how steel fractures at a microscopic level (More, w/video)

Business & Markets

> United Kingdom sees 20.4% drop in quarterly economic activity, the largest decline among the world’s top economies and worst drop since UK recordkeeping began in 1955 (More)

> US consumer prices increase by 0.6% in July, matching June’s increase, as states eased pandemic lockdowns (More)

> Brooks Brothers to be acquired for $325M by partnership between apparel company Authentic Brands and mall owner Simon Property Group; team has previously purchased other brands such as Aéropostale and Juicy Couture (More)

Politics & World Affairs

> Joe Biden, Kamala Harris make first appearance together since Harris was named to the Democratic presidential ticket (More) | FiveThirtyEight releases first 2020 election forecast; Biden holds big lead, but uncertainty in projection is large at this stage (More)

> Bullet hits a US Air Force helicopter while flying over Virginia, injuring one; FBI, military investigating (More)

> Belarus authorities detain at least 6,000 as protests over election fraud sweep country; government claims authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko won 80% of the vote in Sunday election (More)

IN-DEPTH

Abolish the Police?

NYT | Nellie Bowles. For more than three weeks in June, Seattle protesters established a self-declared autonomous zone—including shutting down an entire police precinct. Absent law enforcement, some residents and business owners—many sympathetic to the protesters—say the rosy picture painted by city officials did not match reality. (Read, $$)

Editor's note: To clarify, calls to "defund the police" do not mean "abolishing the police," though some have called for the latter. See an overview here.  

The Fallacy of Banking Umbilical Cord Blood

MIT Press Reader | Mikkael Sekeres. Many soon-to-be parents are paying to store their newborn's umbilical cord blood, rich in stem cells that may potentially be used to treat future diseases. But critics argue a number of companies are simply preying on parental fear with greatly exaggerated promises. (Read)

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ETCETERA

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson leads the highest-paid actors of 2020.

Working moms are carrying the burden of virtual schooling.

The world's largest reindeer herd is under attack. ($$, NatGeo)

The 100 best TV characters of the century (so far).

Artist spends 113 days chronicling quarantine through wall doodles.

The future of television is see-through. 

Paleontologists may have found a Tyrannosaurus rex relative. 

Apple is worried you'll mistake it for a pear.

Clickbait: Man sets record for lighting matches with nunchucks. 

Historybook: Sharpshooter Annie Oakley born (1860); Fidel Castro born (1926); Construction of the Berlin Wall begins (1961); RIP baseball great Mickey Mantle (1995); RIP celebrity chef Julia Child (2004).

"If I knew I was going to live this long, I'd have taken better care of myself."

- Mickey Mantle

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