Weekly Science Report

November 27, 2020

 
“Racism is the rejection of our common humanity.”
Antonio Guterres
 

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
 
Neanderthal thumbs better adapted to holding tools with handles
https://phys.org/news/2020-11-neanderthal-thumbs-tools.html
 
Genetic research reveals Neanderthals could tolerate smoke, plant toxins
https://phys.org/news/2020-11-genetic-reveals-neanderthals-tolerate-toxins.html

History
 
Educators And Native Leaders Recommend Bringing Anti-Racism To The Thanksgiving Table
https://www.npr.org/2020/11/25/938237004/educators-and-native-leaders-recommend-bringing-anti-racism-
to-the-thanksgiving-?sc=18&f=1001
 
Lost Languages Discovered in One of the World’s Oldest Continuously Run Libraries
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/long-lost-languages-found-manuscripts-egyptian-monastery-
180964698/
 
Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade just featured a native land acknowledgment
https://www.cnn.com/2020/11/26/us/macys-thanksgiving-day-parade-land-acknowledgment-trnd/index.html?
utm_term=link&utm_content=2020-11-26T21%3A32%3A02&utm_medium=social&utm_source=fbCNN
 
Archaeologists May Have Finally Solved the Mystery of the Disappearance of
Roanoke’s Lost Colony
https://news.artnet.com/art-world/archaeologists-mystery-lost-roanoke-lost-colony-1921594?
utm_content=buffer69c36&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=news&fbclid=I
wAR0rsyQcQAVdz3-6Ay_A_g067h6aQLz3ZQFc2x4eArJtID1h-PS7tHFav2Y
 
Iraq’s cultural heritage negatively impacted by sectarian politics experts say
https://amp.thenationalnews.com/world/mena/iraq-s-cultural-heritage-negatively-impacted-by-sectarian-
politics-experts-say-1.1117905?s=09
 
Educators And Native Leaders Recommend Bringing Anti-Racism To The Thanksgiving Table
https://www.npr.org/2020/11/25/938237004/educators-and-native-leaders-recommend-bringing-anti-racism-
to-the-thanksgiving-?
utm_content=buffer5c84d&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer&s=09
 
On 88 acres of self-governed land in Tennessee, a dream deferred for Choctaw people comes true
https://amp.usatoday.com/amp/6419821002?__twitter_impression=true&s=09
 
Human remains found on Vancouver Island have opened a door into a lost world
https://www.macleans.ca/news/human-remains-found-on-vancouver-island-have-opened-a-door-into-a-lost-
world/
 
New light shed on polar explorer's last hours
https://phys.org/news/2020-11-polar-explorer-hours.html
 
Americans celebrated Thanksgiving during a pandemic before. Here's what happened.
https://www.livescience.com/thanksgiving-1918-spanish-flu-pandemic.html
 
400 years ago, visitors to this painted cave took hallucinogens
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/2020/11/400-years-ago-visitors-painted-cave-took-
hallucinogens/
 
Secrets of the ‘lost crops’ revealed where bison roam
https://source.wustl.edu/2020/11/secrets-of-the-lost-crops-revealed-where-bison-roam/
 
How medieval Christian ideology changed the Polish environment forever – new study
https://theconversation.com/how-medieval-christian-ideology-changed-the-polish-environment-forever-new-
study-150324
 
Geoscientists discover Ancestral Puebloans survived from ice melt in New Mexico lava tubes
https://phys.org/news/2020-11-geoscientists-ancestral-puebloans-survived-ice.html
 
To Reach the Gods
https://www.archaeology.org/issues/401-2011/digs/9114-digs-greece-healing-sanctuaries
 
The Silk Road Was More Than a Vast Trade Route
https://www.discovermagazine.com/the-sciences/the-silk-road-was-more-than-a-vast-trade-route

Archaeology
 
How Archaeologists Are Using Deep Learning to Dig Deeper
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/24/science/artificial-intelligence-archaeology-cnn.html?s=09#click=https://
t.co/pFCDnuMzmh
 
Tour a lost stone circle on the Isle of Lewis that has not been seen for 4,000 years
https://www.scotsman.com/heritage-and-retro/heritage/tour-lost-stone-circle-isle-lewis-has-not-been-seen-
4000-years-3040292
 
Shipwreck revealed as waves erode sand from Crescent Beach
https://www.firstcoastnews.com/article/news/local/shipwreck-revealed-as-waves-erode-sand-from-crescent-
beach/77-522bd594-e0bc-40c2-ab4d-d8a46fa0bf3f
 
A Record of Horseback Riding, Written in Bone and Teeth
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/13/science/horses-china-archaeology.html?referringSource=articleShare
 
Facebook is deleting evidence of war crimes, researchers say
https://www.theverge.com/platform/amp/2020/11/25/21664951/facebook-ban-stolen-artifacts-aids-criminal-
organizations?__twitter_impression=true&s=09
 
Why Scholars, Cultural Institutions Are Calling to Protect Armenian Heritage
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/metropolitan-museum-scholars-call-protection-cultural-
heritage-nagorno-karabakh-180976364/?s=09
 
Melting ice patch in Norway reveals large collection of ancient arrows
https://phys.org/news/2020-11-ice-patch-norway-reveals-large.html
 
Mythological masks unearthed in Turkey’s ancient city of Stratonikeia
https://www.dailysabah.com/arts/mythological-masks-unearthed-in-turkeys-ancient-city-of-stratonikeia/news
 
Hegra, an Ancient City in Saudi Arabia Untouched for Millennia, Makes Its Public Debut
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/hegra-ancient-city-saudi-arabia-untouched-for-millennia-makes-its-
public-debut-180976361/
 
Scientists find 2,600 year-old earthenware coated with carbon nanotubes in Tamil Nadu
https://www.hindustantimes.com/science/scientists-discover-2-600-year-old-earthenware-coated-with-
carbon-nanotubes-in-tamil-nadu/story-SdaPFZLfas1bFnFlSPkfdO.html
 
Bodies of rich man and slave discovered within Pompeii ruins
https://www.cnn.com/2020/11/21/europe/pompeii-rich-man-slave-bodies-scli-intl/index.html
 
Students discover hidden 15th-century text on medieval manuscripts
https://phys.org/news/2020-11-students-hidden-15th-century-text-medieval.html
 
Ancient blanket made with 11,500 turkey feathers
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2020-11/wsu-abm112520.php
 
Rebuilding Notre Dame will be incredibly hard
https://www.livescience.com/documentary-rebuilding-notre-dame-cathedral.html

Egyptology
 
These mysterious Egyptian head cones actually existed, grave find reveals
https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2019/12/these-mysterious-egyptian-head-cones-actually-existed-grave-
find-reveals?utm_campaign=ACohen&utm_source=AAAS&utm_medium=Twitter
 
Ancient Egyptian temple reveals previously unknown star constellations
https://www.livescience.com/ancient-egyptian-star-constellations.html
 
X-ray diffraction reveals details inside mummies without having to open them up
https://phys.org/news/2020-11-x-ray-diffraction-reveals-mummies.html
 
Looted Ancient Egyptian Carving Repatriated
https://www.archaeology.org/news/9234-201125-egypt-looting-smuggling

General Science
 
Towards 6G wireless communication networks: vision, enabling technologies, and new paradigm shifts
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2020-11/scp-t6w112520.php
 
Exploring the use of artificial intelligence in architecture
https://techxplore.com/news/2020-11-exploring-artificial-intelligence-architecture.html

Physics, Earth and Space Sciences

 
Scientists Discover Outer Space Isn't Pitch-Black After All
https://www.npr.org/2020/11/18/936219170/scientists-discover-outer-space-isnt-pitch-black-after-all?
utm_term=nprnews&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=npr&fbclid=IwAR26LH
lVTOXkFAbmbp_50JFT6PpKyHZ6a2R6fDbVYYUWb7sYrtzEUt54CA8
 
World-Renowned Arecibo Radio Telescope Set To Be Dismantled
https://www.npr.org/2020/11/19/936677582/world-renowned-arecibo-telescope-set-to-be-dismantled?
sc=18&f=1001
 
The Space Force Is Now in Charge of the Secret X-37B Space Plane
https://www.military.com/daily-news/2020/11/05/space-force-now-charge-of-secret-x-37b-space-plane.html
 
Scientists claim controversial results of comets observations are consistent
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2020-11/fefu-scc112520.php
 
Is Space Mining the Eco-Friendly Choice?
https://www.discovermagazine.com/the-sciences/is-space-mining-the-eco-friendly-choice
 
First Evidence of a Recently Active Volcano on Mars
https://www.discovermagazine.com/the-sciences/first-evidence-of-a-recently-active-volcano-on-mars
 
The case of the missing dark matter: new suspect found in galactic mystery
https://phys.org/news/2020-11-case-dark-galactic-mystery.html
 
Japan spacecraft carrying asteroid soil samples nears home
https://phys.org/news/2020-11-japan-spacecraft-asteroid-soil-samples.html
 
New transient ultraluminous X-ray source detected in the galaxy NGC 7090
https://phys.org/news/2020-11-transient-ultraluminous-x-ray-source-galaxy.html
 
What was early Earth like? Almost like Venus, research shows
https://phys.org/news/2020-11-early-earth-venus.html
 
Earth faster, closer to black hole in new map of galaxy
https://phys.org/news/2020-11-earth-faster-closer-black-hole.html

Environment, Climate Change and Alternative Energy Sources

 
Army Corps of Engineers Denies Permit To Controversial Alaska Gold Mine
https://www.npr.org/2020/11/25/939010891/army-corps-of-engineers-denies-permit-to-controversial-alaska-
gold-mine?sc=18&f=1001
 
Physicists build circuit that generates clean, limitless power from graphene
https://phys.org/news/2020-10-physicists-circuit-limitless-power-graphene.html
 
Our Thanksgiving Menu has Lost a Few Crops
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/blogs/national-museum-of-natural-history/2020/11/24/our-thanksgiving-
menu-has-lost-few-crops/
 
Microbes help unlock phosphorus for plant growth
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2020-11/uow-mhu112420.php
 
Satellite images confirm uneven impact of climate change
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2020-11/fos--sic112520.php
 
Global collaboration is unlocking wheat's genetic potential
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2020-11/ksu-gci112420.php
 
Even Mount Everest, the World’s Tallest Peak, Can’t Escape Microplastics
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/even-mount-everest-facing-microplastic-pollution-new-study-
finds-180976389/
 
America’s Marine Sanctuaries
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/why-national-marine-sanctuaries-are-another-
americas-best-ideas-180976298/

Biological, Genetics and Medical Sciences

 
A Geneticist’s Dilemma
https://www.washingtonpost.com/magazine/2020/11/23/many-scientists-believe-that-dna-holds-cure-disease-
that-poses-problem-some-native-americans/?
arc404=true&utm_content=buffercec2a&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffe
r

 
Psychedelics as health and wellness aid? Not a hallucination
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/psychedelics-health-wellness-aid-not-hallucination-n1247631
 
Sound waves power new advances in drug delivery and smart materials
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2020-11/ru-swp112320.php
 
Can we harness a plant's ability to synthesize medicinal compounds?
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2020-11/cifs-cwh112420.php
 
Scientists reveal regions of the brain where serotonin promotes patience
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2020-11/oios-srr112420.php
 
How Do Octopuses Experience the World?
https://www.discovermagazine.com/planet-earth/how-do-octopuses-experience-the-world
 
It's not too late to save 102 species at risk of extinction
https://phys.org/news/2020-11-late-species-extinction.html

Other
 
Metal monolith found by helicopter crew in Utah desert
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-55056570
 
We are approaching the fastest, deepest, most consequential technological disruption in history
https://www.fastcompany.com/90559711/we-are-approaching-the-fastest-deepest-most-consequential-
technological-disruption-in-history
 
Was the mysterious object that fell from the sky onto the Navajo Nation from outer space? Or is
there a more earthly explanation?
https://amp.azcentral.com/amp/6343676002?__twitter_impression=true&s=09

Additional Informational
 
Mystery at Mound F, Harappa
https://www.harappa.com/slideshows/mystery-mound-f-harappa
 
Museum Association of NY Announces Museum Partners for Building Capacity, Creating Sustainability,
Growing Accessibility
https://nysmuseums.org/MANYnews/9384191?s=09
 
A Walk-Through Lothal
https://www.harappa.com/slideshows/walk-through-lothal
 
The Astronomical Context of the Archaeology and Architecture of the Chacoan Culture
https://www.academia.edu/3200419/
The_Astronomical_Context_of_the_Archaeology_and_Architecture_of_the_Chacoan_Culture
 
"This is Where Our People Are": Reflections on Plymouth 400
https://facingtoday.facinghistory.org/this-is-where-our-people-are-reflections-on-plymouth-400?
utm_source=hootsuite&utm_medium=facebook&utm_campaign=organic
 
TED Talk, India’s Historic Opportunity to Industrialize using Clean Energy
https://www.ted.com/talks/
varun_sivaram_india_s_historic_opportunity_to_industrialize_using_clean_energy?utm_content=2020-11-
16&utm_source=t.co&utm_campaign=social&utm_medium=social&s=09
 
Harappan Chimaeras as ‘Symbolic Hypertexts’. Some Thoughts on Plato, Chimaera and the Indus
Civilization
https://www.harappa.com/content/harappan-chimaeras
 
Middle Stone Age Populations Repeatedly Occupied West African Coast
https://www.shh.mpg.de/1911161/middle-stone-age-populations-repeatedly-occupied-west-african-coast?
c=1606725
 
TED Talk, Could we harness the power of a Blackhole?
https://www.ted.com/talks/fabio_pacucci_could_we_harness_the_power_of_a_black_hole?
utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=social&utm_source=t.co&utm_content=2020-11-14
 
The Indus Script: Origins, Use and Disappearance
https://www.harappa.com/content/indus-script-origins-use-and-disappearance
 
National Parks Conservation Association, Final Words
https://www.npca.org/articles/2674-final-words?s=09
 
PBS Nova, Saving Notre Dame- Video
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/video/saving-notre-dame/?s=09
 
Cereal, Olive & Vine Pollen Reveal Market Integration in Ancient Greece
https://www.shh.mpg.de/1912178/market-integration-in-ancient-greece?c=1606725