Recently, there have been several articles in the media asking the question, 'If alien life were to exist would humans be able to accept it?' For decades (possibly centuries) there has been a raging debate on the existence of alien life in the universe. While Stephen hawking considers alien life to be a mathematical certainty, other scientists such as Carl Sagan have found the notion laughable. Regardless of the intellectual arguments made for or against, the most remedial question still remains. If there are aliens in the universe, wouldn't there be some type of physical proof?
In 2003, the best possible evidence of extraterrestrial life was discovered in the most unlikely of places, the Atacama Desert located in Chile. Found by Oscar Munoz in a deserted village and later to sold to Spanish businessman Ramón Navia-Osorio, "The Atacama Humanoid" later dubbed 'Ata', has baffled the scientific community to say the least.
During the summer of 2012, Osorio reached out to Steven M. Greer MD (a UFO researcher) about conducting a study on the arcane and intriguing artifact. Taking X-rays, CAT scans and genetic samples of the creature, Greer went to Stanford University to have the samples studied by Dr. Garry Nolan a Professor of microbiology and Immunology and Dr. Ralph Lachman a visiting Professor at Stanford.
While the mainstream media was quick to dismiss 'Ata' as nothing more than a premature fetus which had been aborted, the findings from both Dr. Lachman and Nolan were more interesting. The first finding to come from Stanford was that based on the genetic material that was analyzed, the (6 inch tall or 13 cm) being in question was organic and certainly not a hoax, as had also been reported by media outlets. Secondly, based on the formation and closing of the growth plates, it was estimated that 'Ata' had lived to be 6 to 8 years old, which based on the height of the figure also ruled out the possibility of it suffering from any known type of dwarfism.
Adding to the mystery was the fact that although the creature appeared to have many human characteristics, it also had ones that were not. It was noted that the creature only has ten ribs while humans have twelve. In addition, the cranium was also not human in dimensions or skeletal formation. Upon further inspection of X-rays, it was found that there was a fully formed adult tooth still connected to the jaw bone, thus making it more apparent the creature had reached some sort of maturity.
After remedial DNA testing of the samples provided by Dr. Greer, all that Dr’s Lachman and Nolan are willing to say is that there is still much more testing that is necessary in order to learn more precisely what exactly ‘Ata’ is or what her origins are. For now, all that is sure is that whatever was found in the Atacama Desert is a fascinating mystery. What the answer to that mystery is, is anyone guess.
