Weekly Science Report

December 20, 2019

 
'If you do not see God in Humanity, it is futile to look for Him elsewhere."
Mahatma Gandhi
 

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
 
A New Discovery About Prehistoric Rock Art Suggests Ancient People Had Technology We Are
Only Now Beginning to Catch Up To
https://news.artnet.com/art-world/babine-lake-prehistoric-red-paintings-1713738?
utm_content=bufferb71af&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=new
s&fbclid=IwAR01ghdXnXR-6qL6PBYXT2UCovVfejjQxqz3QIlhCPvP1962fgUz-XWR3Gc
 
What Ancient 'Chewing Gum' Can Tell Us About Life 5,700 Years Ago
https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2019/12/17/788115779/what-ancient-chewing-gum-can-
tell-us-about-life-5-700-years-ago?sc=tw
 
The World’s Oldest Forest Has 385-Million-Year-Old Tree Roots
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/385-million-year-old-fossils-reveal-worlds-oldest-
forest-had-modern-tree-roots-180973810/
 
THE FERTILE SHORE
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/how-humans-came-to-americas-180973739/
 

New Dates Obtained for Java’s H. Erectus Fossils

https://www.archaeology.org/news/8311-191220-indonesia-
homo-erectus
 

Study Reconsiders Denisovan Dentition

https://www.archaeology.org/news/8308-191219-denisovan-teeth-roots
 
A step closer to understanding evolution: Mitochondrial division conserved across species
https://phys.org/news/2019-12-closer-evolution-mitochondrial-division-species.html
 
 
 
 

History
 
A Long-Lost Manuscript Contains a Searing Eyewitness Account of the Tulsa Race Massacre of
1921
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/long-lost-manuscript-contains-searing-
eyewitness-account-tulsa-race-massacre-1921-180959251/?
utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=socialmedia
 
Montana Tribe's Long Recognition Struggle Clears Congress
https://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2019/12/17/us/ap-us-tribal-recognition-1st-ld-writethru.html?
utm_content=buffer1196a&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer
 
DNA Analysis From Colonial Delaware Skeletons Reveals Beginning Of American Slave Trade
https://www.forbes.com/sites/kristinakillgrove/2019/12/19/dna-analysis-from-colonial-delaware-
skeletons-reveals-beginning-of-american-slave-trade/#29cbf0781f1b
 
New Exhibit Highlights African American Soldiers Of The Civil War
https://www.wuwf.org/post/new-exhibit-highlights-african-american-soldiers-civil-war#stream/0
 
Museums Throw Open the Storage Rooms, Letting In the Public
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/18/arts/design/museum-storage.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share

D.C.’s Newseum Is Closing Its Doors at the End of the Year

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/dcs-newseum-closing-its-doors-end-year-
180973274/?
utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=socialmedia&fbclid=IwAR2p9KuVtQ_J5QOrP1i-bLXj-
9rPckUER49MvZQJc0dhMLJGONKW1A-5910
 
The lost music of the Holocaust- Video
https://www.cbsnews.com/video/holocaust-prisoners-in-nazi-concentration-camps-made-music-
now-its-being-discovered-and-performed-60-minutes-2019-12/?ftag=COS-05-
10aaa0h&utm_campaign=trueAnthem:
+Trending+Content&utm_medium=trueAnthem&utm_source=facebook&fbclid=IwAR1UzE_Jixdv
KN-GUBFkQRdDklTOtr691263vqj2GfXJRTLtPaN7fLhusSs
 
Painted Bronze Age Monkeys Hint at the Interconnectedness of the Ancient World
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/painted-bronze-age-monkeys-hint-
interconnectedness-ancient-world-180973789/?
utm_source=smithsoniandaily&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=20191216-daily-
responsive&spMailingID=41351776&spUserID=NDkzNjg5MzU3MzY5S0&spJobID=1661546351
&spReportId=MTY2MTU0NjM1MQS2&fbclid=IwAR1ihlHa1j7nkkEmjLhC7rWq06yGMmS8q-
AJcLBUFHqLMXGQ-qH4Rf6_rEI
 
The Smithsonian’s Newest Executive Probably Can’t Talk About Her Previous Job Experience
(Because She Led the CIA)
https://news.artnet.com/art-world/cia-smithsonian-new-executive-1736730?
utm_content=bufferea4c3&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=new
s&fbclid=IwAR1zQClpk9QJMB1rTMrT4KOqNnrmHBJPr09QXsFFcNl4XMQjLjbq7cUGDus
 
Denial Is the Final Stage Of Genocide, The Armenians Know It Best
https://www.forbes.com/sites/ewelinaochab/2019/12/17/denial-is-the-final-stage-of-genocide-the-
armenians-know-it-best/#577e5ee270b1
 
Trump administration rejects Congress vote on Armenia 'genocide'
https://www.bbc.com/news/amp/world-europe-50828179
 
The Persecution of the Roma Is Often Left Out of the Holocaust Story. Victims’ Families Are
Fighting to Change That
https://time.com/5719540/roma-holocaust-remembrance/?amp=true
 
Report: German spy agency releases Himmler daughter files
https://apnews.com/dbad1099f3e87ea23ff39df98b3ccfa3
 

Archaeology
 
This village fought sea-level rise 7,000 years ago. The sea won.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/science/2019/12/18/this-village-fought-sea-level-rise-years-ago-
sea-won/
 
In Tulsa, an investigation finds possible evidence of mass graves from 1921 race massacre
https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2019/12/16/tulsa-moves-closer-learning-if-there-are-
mass-graves-race-massacre/?
fbclid=IwAR2FlwYmAs2BjsODTGORBWTKmwsvcw85mmbi5dcg5MT4KEdnB1iBx_7B6RM
 
Archaeologists Discover Ancient Greek Royal Tombs Dating Back 3,500 Years
https://www.npr.org/2019/12/17/789142592/archaeologists-discover-ancient-greek-royal-tombs-
dating-back-3-500-years?sc=18&f=1001
 
Hunting for the ancient lost farms of North America
https://arstechnica.com/science/2018/01/hunting-for-the-ancient-lost-farms-of-north-america/?
fbclid=IwAR2RqzjG33GScXxXt4TtN6nMGtr4Sd7GfrvNeNBEbDRLMUP4fi9yNZD0rxE
 
Caribbean settlement began in Greater Antilles, say University of Oregon researchers
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2019-12/uoo-csb121619.php
 
 
 

Egyptology
 
Archaeologist exposes ‘unexpected anomalies’ found in Tutankhamun’s tomb
https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/1215520/egypt-archaeology-news-anomaly-tutankhamun-
kv62-tomb-howard-carter-spt
 
 
 
 
 

General Science
 
The Largest Scientific Structure Ever Powers Up in Africa
https://www.wired.com/story/square-kilometre-array-largest-scientific-structure-ever-africa/?
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_121719&utm_medium=email&utm_source=nl&utm_term=list1_p
4
 
AI, 5G, 'ambient computing': What to expect in tech in 2020 and beyond
https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2019/12/18/tech-trends-2020-battery-power-ai-privacy/
4360879002/

Physics, Earth and Space Sciences

 
Greenland rocks suggest Earth’s magnetic field is older than we thought
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-019-03807-7
 
Glitch delays launch of Europe's exoplanet hunter
https://phys.org/news/2019-12-glitch-europe-exoplanet-hunter.html?fbclid=IwAR3SRtvFRyKW-
Y4TOhgRM9MvtmZp_BcD9qakhkJDYLzcUk_NytEkBLCazR0
 
Earth's magnetic north pole is heading for Russia and scientists are puzzled
https://edition.cnn.com/2019/12/18/world/magnetic-north-pole-drift-scn-trnd/index.html?
utm_medium=social&utm_source=fbCNNi&utm_term=link&utm_content=2019-12-
18T17%3A00%3A38&fbclid=IwAR1FUHvMvLwL8ErYpNrHOhJ5WI9fKmooiQgR5rJRraRFCE4
CssZA3m7LgYQ
 
Norwegian billionaire funds deluxe deep ocean research ship
https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2018/11/norwegian-billionaire-funds-deluxe-deep-ocean-
research-ship
 
Planetary confusion – why astronomers keep changing what it means to be a planet
https://theconversation.com/planetary-confusion-why-astronomers-keep-changing-what-it-means-
to-be-a-planet-124158
 
Slave life’s harsh realities are erased in Christmas tours of Southern plantations
https://theconversation.com/slave-lifes-harsh-realities-are-erased-in-christmas-tours-of-southern-
plantations-125042
 
Nightside barrier gently brakes 'bursty' plasma bubbles
https://phys.org/news/2019-12-nightside-barrier-gently-bursty-plasma.html
 

Environment, Climate Change and Alternative Energy

Sources
 
Big step in producing carbon-neutral fuel: silver diphosphide
https://phys.org/news/2019-12-big-carbon-neutral-fuel-silver-diphosphide.html?
fbclid=IwAR01kCESO_n9TJSiDalLKEFl1CgCgNrdL17EbDYPCO55Yaku0QgpX2gOQTU
 
32 years ago the world pledged to fix the ozone layer. And it worked
https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2017/09/ozone-action-worked-environmental-progress
 
Amazon forest regrowth much slower than previously thought
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2019-12/lu-afr121919.php
 
Recent rise in CFC emissions could delay ozone hole healing by almost 20 years
https://phys.org/news/2019-12-cfc-emissions-ozone-hole-years.html
 
 
 
 

Biological, Genetics and Medical Sciences

 
Scientists make 'exciting' advancement in certain breast cancer drugs
https://edition.cnn.com/2019/12/17/health/breast-cancer-drugs-her2-positive-study/index.html?
utm_term=link&utm_content=2019-12-
17T13%3A29%3A15&utm_source=fbCNNi&utm_medium=social&fbclid=IwAR3B6GGiP-
O2x7ksIfJrx-UtLEW3UyOyL6K57wRNIi80ZQ3JeXoP8vYg97I
 
Scientists Reach Out To Minority Communities To Diversify Alzheimer's Studies
https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2019/12/17/787772971/scientists-reach-out-to-minority-
communities-to-diversify-alzheimers-studies?sc=tw
 
Researchers Explore A Drug-Free Idea To Relieve Chronic Pain: Green Light
https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2019/12/15/787138928/researchers-explore-a-drug-free-
idea-to-relieve-chronic-pain-green-light?sc=tw
 
Artificial intelligence tracks down leukemia
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2019-12/d-gc-ait122019.php
 
 

Other
 
Fewer Students Are Going To College. Here's Why That Matters
https://www.npr.org/2019/12/16/787909495/fewer-students-are-going-to-college-heres-why-that-
matters?sc=tw
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Additional Informational
 
With Their Subject Matter in the Crosshairs, What Should Museums Do?
https://www.aam-us.org/2019/09/04/with-their-subject-matter-in-the-crosshairs-what-should-
museums-do/
 
Rio de Janeiro Declaration on Fire Risk Reduction in Cultural Heritage
https://www.museus.gov.br/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/DeclaracaoRioJaneiro.pdf