Conservation of animal genetic resources requires regular monitoring and interventions to maintain population size and manage genetic variability. This study uses genealogical information to evaluate the impact of conservation measures in Europe, using (i) data from the Domestic Animal Diversity Information System (DAD-IS) and (ii) a posteriori assessment of the impact of various conservation measures on the genetic variability of 17 at-risk breeds with a wide range of interventions. Analysis of data from DAD-IS showed that 68% of national breed populations reported to receive financial support showed increasing demographic trends, v. 51% for those that did not. The majority of the 17 at-risk breeds have increased their numbers of registered animals over the last 20 years, but the changes in genetic variability per breed have not always matched the trend in population size. These differences in trends observed in the different metrics might be explained by the tensions between interventions to maintain genetic variability, and development initiatives which lead to intensification of selection.

We report on the highest angular resolution observation to date of the bright core, R136a, of the massive star cluster R136 within the 30 Doradus complex in the LMC. This visual observation was obtained with the interferometric fringe mode of operation of Fine Guidance Sensor No. 3 (FGS3) on board HST. Crowding and strong diffuse background from nebular emission make this a challenging observation.

The giant HII region 30 Dor has provided some of the best candidates for the most massive stars, like R136al. We provide evidence for a new component, R136a1B, within the previously known R136a1-a2 system with a separation of 80 mas (or ≈ 4000 au from a1 at the distance of the LMC), and δV = 1.1 mag fainter than the brightest component a1. Estimates from current evolutionary models of massive stars based on the new FGS photometry predict, after subtraction of a1B, that the present mass of R136a1 is 30 M⊙ with a main sequence progenitor of 60 M⊙. To date, this is the lowest direct estimate of the mass of R136a1.

The success of this difficult observation adds a new, unique feature to FGS3 and gives a much expanded, astrophysically very rewarding, role to the interferometer.

Since the time of its promulgation in 1648, the Cambridge Platform has been considered one of seventeenth-century New England's most important documents. Its clerical authors regarded it as a vital instrument for maintaining Christ's commandments, and their assessment was correct. The Platform was the recognized standard for Massachusetts Bay's religion until the time of the American Revolution. Its validity was affirmed not only at the time of its creation but also by the Reforming Synod of 1679. The origins of the Cambridge Platform and the forces that brought about the synod of 1646–1648, where it was written, were many and deeply complicated. Foremost among the internal disagreements causing serious difficulties in the colony during the second decade of settlement were the controversies over ecclesiastical polity, church membership and eligibility for baptism. The situation in England, closely related to the disruptions in the colony, also became a vital factor in the writing of the Cambridge Platform.