In a now-viral story, “foreign” bodies were presented at the Mexican Congress on Tuesday, September 12. So is there any real science behind this strange phenomenon?

Not so, according to scientists who condemned the claim and confirmed that the bodies were not aliens. The Mexican Congress has held hearings on unidentified aerial phenomena (UAPs), which are now used to identify UFOs. UAPs have also been the subject of hearings in the United States Congress for the past two years.

During the presentation, a team that included Mexican journalist Jaime Maussán and military doctor José de Jesus Salce Benitez presented to the congress two skinny-looking corpses, no more than 1 meter (3.3 feet) tall, with grayish skin and large heads. They claimed that DNA tests showed that the remains of this three-toed creature were not human and that they contained eggs in their abdomen that could be used for reproduction. The duo also said the bodies came from Peru, and radiocarbon dating showed they were 1,000 years old, National Public Radio reported.

The same bodies made headlines in 2017 and 2018, Maussan told Live Science in an email. At the time, scientists claimed that these bodies were composed of manipulated parts of the human body. Maussan told Live Science that multiple tests since then have shown the bodies were not human. He also emphasized that he wasn’t saying these bodies were necessarily aliens, just that they weren’t human.

“We never said they were aliens”Maussan added that they found evidence of implants made of osmium and cadmium elements inside the bodies. “Technology unknown 1000 years ago”. Live Science was unable to reach Jesus Zalce Benitez.

What do scientists say

“Let me tell you, this is all bullshit.”Rafael Bojalil-Parra, director of research development at the Metropolitan Autonomous University (UAD) in Mexico City, told Live Science in an email. “The fact that our Congress held a forum for this self-proclaimed UFO scientist is a reflection of the anti-science sentiment prevalent in our country today.”.

There were reports in some media outlets that the examination of the bodies was carried out at the ICJ. But Bojalil-Parra said the university does not conduct DNA testing, and although carbon-14 testing was done in 2017, a commercial agreement does not allow the university to release the results.

If the bodies were aliens, it makes sense that the carbon-14 test wouldn’t work. “Radiocarbon dating is based on carbon-14 atoms formed when solar radiation hits the Earth’s upper atmosphere.”David Anderson, an associate professor of anthropology at Radford University in Virginia who has written extensively on pseudoarchaeology, told Live Science in an email. “To radiocarbon date aliens, we need to know what the 14-C production rate is on their home planet, not ours.”.

Other scientists also condemned these claims. “Sad to see Jaime Maussan’s debunked claims back online.”Andrew Nelson, chair of anthropology at Western University in Ontario, told Live Science in an email. bodies “It was refuted on the basis of anatomy”and investigations found some bodies “are human mummies deliberately manipulated to look like aliens”, – said Nelson. For example, they show that “alien” feet may have been created by amputating the foot of a human mummy.

“Toes I and V were damaged and the skin and soft tissues of the foot behind the toes were cut, resulting in the foot having extremely long toes.”said vertebrate paleontologist Rodolfo Salas-Gismondi.

Nelson said this “Although Maussan claimed to have CT, C-14 and DNA evidence, it did not submit this evidence to peer review by the scientific community.”. Nelson added that if the remains are truly 1,000 years old and came from Peru, this raises the question of how they left the country.

Another scientist said that if the remains were human, those making the claims should face legal consequences. They “He should be arrested and prosecuted in accordance with applicable law for the use or desecration of human remains.”Ken Feder, a professor of archeology at Central Connecticut State University, told LiveScience in an email.

As Jeb Card, an associate professor of anthropology at Miami University in Ohio, noted, the hearings in Mexico occurred in part because the United States Congress was holding high-profile hearings on the UAP. Despite “No one has yet removed the bodies of aliens from the US Capitol”Card said in an email to LiveScience that former military officials have testified to the US Congress that the US government is in possession of alien biological remains.

Card said the growing popularity of conspiracy theories helps explain why things like this happen. “The reality is that it is now figuratively and literally profitable to push narratives in which the ‘elites’ impose their will on large segments of the public through insidious, conspiratorial, and sometimes supernatural means.”.

Live Science reached out to Peru’s Ministry of Culture, which did not respond to requests for comment at the time of publication. Source