Weekly Science Report

January 3, 2020
 
“Propaganda does not deceive people; it merely helps them to deceive themselves.”
Eric Hoffer
 

Introduction
 
Steve Detwiler created this publication with the support of Graham Hancock and the late John
Anthony West to share news and information on various disciplines to include but not limited to
paleontology, space sciences, genetics and archaeology.  His goal behind sharing this publication
has always been very simple, by sharing knowledge we can make our world a better place.  This
publication is Mr. Detwiler’s contribution to bring people together and share ideas and discoveries
with his fellow humans.
 
I hope you enjoy this publication and that the content challenges and inspires you!
 
The Weekly Science Report is also on social media at:
 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/weeklysciencerpt/
 Twitter: https://twitter.com/wklysciencerpt
 

News Articles
 
Paleontology, Evolution and Prehistoric Studies
 
This Cave Contains the Oldest Story Ever Recorded
https://www.wired.com/story/cave-with-oldest-story-ever-recorded/?
bxid=5bd6790424c17c1048020acb&cndid=41291302&esrc=twitter-newsletter-
c&source=EDT_WIR_NEWSLETTER_0_DAILY_ZZ&utm_brand=wired&utm_campaign=aud-
dev&utm_mailing=WIR_Daily_010220&utm_medium=email&utm_source=nl&utm_term=list1_p
3
 
Scientists Find the Oldest Human Skull Outside of Africa

https://www.discovermagazine.com/planet-earth/scientists-
find-the-oldest-human-skull-outside-of-africa

Remains of 8,000-year-old Neolithic settlement unearthed in

central China

https://news.cgtn.com/news/2019-12-21/Remains-of-Neolithic-
settlement-unearthed-in-central-China-MBmktYU5MI/
index.html#.
 
Origin story: Rewriting human history through DNA

https://phys.org/news/2019-12-story-rewriting-human-history-
dna.html
 
Denisovan Research Reveals That Early Humans Were More Complex Than We Thought
https://www.discovermagazine.com/planet-earth/denisovan-research-reveals-the-early-humans-
were-more-complex-than-we
 
Early modern humans cooked starchy food in South Africa, 170,000 years ago
https://phys.org/news/2020-01-early-modern-humans-cooked-starchy.html
 
This 8000-year-old ‘gum’ holds surprises about ancient toolmakers
https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2018/12/8000-year-old-gum-holds-surprises-about-ancient-
toolmakers

History
 
His grandfather was the monster behind Auschwitz. Rainer Hoess is making sure no one ever
forgets
https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2019/11/06/his-grandfather-was-the-monster-behind-auschwitz-
rainer-hoess-is-making-sure-no-one-ever-forgets.html
 
Afghanistan’s Last Jew Gets Ready for the Taliban—Again
https://foreignpolicy.com/2019/10/29/afghanistan-last-jew-simentov-taliban-return/
 
Gandhi’s great-grandson joins wave of protest at law isolating India’s Muslims
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/dec/21/citizenship-act-tushar-gandhi-great-grandson-
india-muslim-infiltrators-backlash
 
White Sands National Monument designated as the newest US national park
https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/white-sands-national-park-trnd/index.html?
utm_source=fbCNNi&utm_term=link&utm_content=2019-12-
23T23%3A01%3A07&utm_medium=social
 
How to Read “Gilgamesh”
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2019/10/14/how-to-read-gilgamesh?
utm_source=twitter&utm_social-
type=owned&utm_medium=social&utm_brand=tny&mbid=social_twitter
 
When America Tried to Deport Its Radicals
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2019/11/11/when-america-tried-to-deport-its-radicals?
utm_source=twitter&utm_social-
type=owned&utm_medium=social&mbid=social_twitter&utm_brand=tny
 
The U.S. Wanted to Hide Nukes in Arctic Ice Tunnels. The Plan Blew Up in Their Faces
https://time.com/5585149/arctic-nuclear-history/?
utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=editorial&utm_term=history_&linkI
d=79791374
 
Navy warship to be named USS Arizona; first since Pearl Harbor
https://www.kgun9.com/news/local-news/navy-warship-to-be-named-uss-arizona-first-since-pearl-
harbor
 
Polish PM accuses Putin of lying about outbreak of WWII
https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/polish-pm-accuses-putin-lying-outbreak-wwii-
67970438
 
Is the Ark of the Covenant in Ethiopia?
https://www.thedailybeast.com/is-the-ark-of-the-covenant-in-ethiopia?
ref=home&source=TDB&via=FB_Page
 
This week is the somber anniversary of the largest mass execution in the US
https://www.cnn.com/2019/12/28/us/dakota-38-anniversary-trnd/index.html
 
3D printing is helping museums in repatriation and decolonisation efforts
https://www.museumnext.com/article/3d-printing-is-helping-museums-in-repatriation-and-
decolonisation-efforts/
 
 
 
A 1970 Law Led to the Mass Sterilization of Native American Women. That History Still Matters
https://time.com/5737080/native-american-sterilization-history/?
utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=editorial&utm_term=history_&linkI
d=79730055
 
 

Archaeology
 
Human remains found in Idaho cave identified as outlaw who died over 100 years ago
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/human-remains-found-idaho-cave-identified-outlaw-who-
died-over-n1109111?cid=sm_npd_nn_fb_ma&fbclid=IwAR0pErMRrYabFPqxJB-
g3cMVQoNlwtwl7XYRUkkVKyb0G8W3MwommD-1p-I
 
Scientists identify 5,300 year-old sinew bowstring used by Otzi the Iceman
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/12/18/scientists-identify-5300-year-old-sinew-bowstring-
used-otzi/
 
Archaeologists Discover an Ancient Portrait of Young Jesus in an Abandoned Israeli Church

https://news.artnet.com/art-world/ancient-portrait-jesus-
revealed-israeli-church-1396909?
utm_content=buffer6182e&utm_medium=social&utm_source
=facebook.com&utm_campaign=socialmedia

 
Looters removing Native American artifacts along North Port creek

https://www.mysuncoast.com/2019/12/24/looters-removing-
native-american-artifacts-along-north-port-creek/

Archaeological discoveries are happening faster than ever

before, helping refine the human story

https://theconversation.com/archaeological-discoveries-are-
happening-faster-than-ever-before-helping-refine-the-human-
story-128743?
utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=facebookbutton

 
Archeologists in Mexico discovered the ruins of an ancient Mayan palace
https://www.cnn.com/2019/12/28/americas/mexico-mayan-palace-trnd/index.html?
utm_medium=social&utm_term=link&utm_content=2019-12-
29T20%3A15%3A06&utm_source=fbCNN&fbclid=IwAR0Fsm_FL7w4y7hLjjZZIkqJJuQ4WqIZy
LfB922i9lZEGTkMO7giGfJaiRg
 
Notre Dame cathedral has just 50% chance of being saved, rector says
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/notre-dame-cathedral-fire-50-percent-chance-paris-landmark-can-
be-saved-rector-said-today-2019-12-25/?ftag=CNM-00-10aab6a&linkId=79769930
Egyptology
 
An Artist Has Won a Three-Year Legal Battle to Force a German Museum to Publicly Release Its 3-
D Scan of a Bust of Nefertiti
https://news.artnet.com/art-world/3d-scans-museums-nefertiti-1706181
 
Ancient Egyptian Head Cones Were Real, Grave Excavations Suggest
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/ancient-egyptian-head-cones-were-real-grave-
excavations-suggest-180973750/?utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=socialmedia
 
 
 
 
 

General Science
 
Nothing to report

Physics, Earth and Space Sciences

 
India Announces Plans For Its First Human Space Mission
https://www.npr.org/2020/01/01/792927666/india-announces-plans-for-its-first-human-space-
mission?sc=18&f=1001
 
Santorini: Underneath the Aegean island rages a volcano that is an ideal testing ground for space
vehicles

https://inews.co.uk/news/world/santorini-greece-volcano-nasa-
testing-ground-space-vehicles-1350470
 
This drone will fly on one of Saturn’s moons. Here’s the woman leading the mission
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/science/this-drone-will-fly-on-
one-of-saturns-moons-heres-the-woman-leading-the-mission?
utm_campaign=NewsHour&utm_content=1577379650&utm_
medium=pbsofficial&utm_source=facebook
 
Researchers found a brand new mineral tucked in a tiny meteorite. It's never been seen in nature
before

https://www.cnn.com/2019/12/26/world/new-mineral-
discovered-edscottite-scn-trnd/index.html?
utm_medium=social&utm_source=fbCNN&utm_content=201
9-12-
26T21%3A25%3A02&utm_term=link&fbclid=IwAR3qE1cB
Gx-
2hesTmRHCNdNsScLI2nA5wiIuDrZZlGplNMu7iiFyBkJoRR
0
 
A giant star is acting strange, and astronomers are buzzing

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/2019/12/
betelgeuse-is-acting-strange-astronomers-are-buzzing-about-
supernova/
 
Mars 2020 rover to seek ancient life, prepare human missions
https://phys.org/news/2019-12-mars-rover-ancient-life-human.html

Environment, Climate Change and Alternative Energy

Sources
 
Submarine Hobbyists Help Researchers On Montana's Flathead Lake
https://www.npr.org/2019/09/02/755571204/submarine-hobbyists-help-researchers-on-montanas-
flathead-lake?sc=tw
 
North Atlantic Current may cease temporarily in the next century
https://phys.org/news/2019-12-north-atlantic-current-cease-
temporarily.html
 
We Might Not Be Planting the Right Kinds of Forests
https://www.wired.com/story/we-might-not-be-planting-the-right-kinds-of-forests/?
bxid=5bd6790424c17c1048020acb&cndid=41291302&esrc=twitter-newsletter-
c&source=EDT_WIR_NEWSLETTER_0_DAILY_ZZ&utm_brand=wired&utm_campaign=aud-
dev&utm_mailing=WIR_Daily_010220&utm_medium=email&utm_source=nl&utm_term=list2_p
3
 
After 13 years of research, scientists know how to save the world's coral reefs
https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2019/08/what-a-million-corals-in-2-500-reefs-tell-us-about-
saving-them
 
This is how we can feed the planet while saving the ocean
https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2019/09/this-is-how-we-can-feed-the-planet-while-saving-our-
oceans
 
Scientists and designers are proposing radical ways to 'refreeze' the Arctic
https://www.cnn.com/style/article/refreeze-arctic-design-scn/index.html

Biological, Genetics and Medical Sciences

 
Whales Help Explain the Evolutionary Mystery of Menopause
https://www.wired.com/story/whales-help-explain-the-evolutionary-mystery-of-menopause/?
bxid=5bd6790424c17c1048020acb&cndid=41291302&esrc=twitter-newsletter-
c&source=EDT_WIR_NEWSLETTER_0_DAILY_ZZ&utm_brand=wired&utm_campaign=aud-
dev&utm_mailing=WIR_Daily_010220&utm_medium=email&utm_source=nl&utm_term=list1_p
2
 
This Villanova Researcher Is Using Earthworms to Create a Human Blood Substitute
https://www.phillymag.com/healthcare-news/2019/12/18/earthworms-blood-substitute-villanova/
 
A Young Mississippi Woman's Journey Through A Pioneering Gene-Editing Experiment
https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/
2019/12/25/784395525/a-young-mississippi-womans-journey-
through-a-pioneering-gene-editing-experiment?sc=18&f=1001

 
Tourists may be making Antarctica’s penguins sick
https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2018/12/tourists-may-be-making-antarctica-s-penguins-sick
 
SOIL FROM A NORTHERN IRELAND GRAVEYARD MAY LEAD SCIENTISTS TO A
POWERFUL NEW ANTIBIOTIC
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/astonishing-medical-potential-soil-northern-
ireland-graveyard-180973741/

Other
 
Here's What the World Will Look Like in 2030 ... Right?
https://www.wired.com/story/heres-what-the-world-will-look-like-in-2030-right/?
bxid=5bd6790424c17c1048020acb&cndid=41291302&esrc=twitter-newsletter-
c&source=EDT_WIR_NEWSLETTER_0_DAILY_ZZ&utm_brand=wired&utm_campaign=aud-
dev&utm_mailing=WIR_Daily_Personalized_010120&utm_medium=email&utm_source=nl&utm
_term=tout-p
 
What American Muslims Do On Christmas: New Traditions Emerge
https://www.npr.org/2015/12/23/460726559/what-american-muslims-do-on-christmas-new-
traditions-emerge
 
Science Under Attack: How Trump Is Sidelining Researchers and Their Work
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/28/climate/trump-administration-war-on-science.html?
smid=nytcore-ios-share
 
‘It Sounds Like Magic, But It’s Not’: Many Icelanders Believe In Elves
https://www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2019/12/24/iceland-elves?
utm_campaign=npr&utm_term=nprnews&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&fbcli
d=IwAR2-210o4nfJPQe8iWxtjm0xV66ne1CHwPNHVDsErvCz5cjoC8e2-M99t14
 
With births down, U.S. had slowest growth rate in a century
https://apnews.com/f2fc555b185859a3816b7369b69da11d?
utm_source=Facebook&utm_medium=AP&utm_campaign=SocialFlow
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Additional Informational
 
Decolonizing the Future: museums as agents of generational equity
https://www.aam-us.org/2019/09/17/decolonizing-the-future-museums-as-agents-of-generational-
equity/?
fbclid=IwAR3F9buYVhkiug_fcwHFGmQcJJhQnLKLF__NJZNW_ydyGqhQpqYjPhc1nzY
 
The Museum of Our Discoveries: Empowering Young Refugees in an Urban Context
https://icom.museum/en/news/the-museum-of-our-discoveries-empowering-young-refugees-in-an-
urban-context/
 
TED Talk, How your pictures can help reclaim Lost History
https://www.ted.com/talks/chance_coughenour_how_your_pictures_can_help_reclaim_lost_history
 
TED Talk, What it takes to launch a telescope
https://www.ted.com/talks/erika_hamden_what_it_takes_to_launch_a_telescope?
utm_campaign=social&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_content=talk&ut
m_term=science
 
The Museum (2020)- Video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=m3Z2owCQRrI&fbclid=IwAR02wNJYbhGaegDWa4hNkPTjW-
UcAyE6VE4y6EPYdu81dPROCMUIzEpea84&app=desktop