{ https://scientias.nl/nieuws/mens-gezondheid-psychologie/ }

Getty / Futurism

On February 27, retired Air Force Research Laboratory commander William Neil McCasland, who once worked at the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, an Ohio base steeped in UFO lore, mysteriously went missing after leaving his home in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

By March, the FBI had joined the search for the general, sending conspiracy theorists into a tailspin, with some arguing that the agency’s involvement was “evidence of foul play.”

Now the story is getting even stranger. McCasland is just one out of at least ten scientists and engineers with government ties who either died or disappeared within the last four years in incidents that the FBI is now actively investigating, Scientific American reports.

In a statement, the FBI said it’s “spearheading the effort to look for connections into the missing and deceased scientists.”

In a separate Monday press release, the House Oversight Committee announced it was “seeking information from the Department of Energy, Department of War, FBI, and NASA about the scientists and other personnel connected to US nuclear secrets or rocket technology who have died or mysteriously vanished in recent years.”

The committee pointed to reporting alleging that “at least ten individuals who ‘had a connection to US nuclear secrets or rocket technology’ have ‘died or mysteriously vanished in recent years.'”

Lawmakers suggested there could be a “possible sinister connection between a string of mysterious deaths and disappearances,” which could “represent a grave threat to US national security and to US personnel with access to scientific secrets.”

Among these scientists is NASA Jet Propulsion Lab scientist Michael David Hicks, who died in July 2023 of a still-unknown cause. He studied comets and asteroids.

His daughter, Julia Hicks, told CNN that she didn’t “understand the connection between my dad’s death and the other missing scientists.”

“I can’t help but laugh about it, but at the same time, it’s getting serious,” she added.

Another JPL-affiliated space research specialist, Frank Maiwald, died in 2024, while an aerospace engineer, Monica Reza, disappeared while hiking in Los Angeles in 2025. Maiwald has authored papers on mass spectrometry and remote sensing instruments, while Reza was a metallurgist and materials engineer at JPL.

In December, lauded theoretical physicist and director of the MIT Plasma Science and Fusion Center Nuno Loureiro was murdered in his Brookline, Massachusetts, home. Then in February, a renowned Caltech astronomer who studied distant exoplanets named Carl Grillmair was shot and killed outside his home near LA.

Of course, it’s possible that investigators and lawmakers could be falling for sensationalist tabloid reporting. After all, the president of the United States has frequently furthered unhinged conspiracy theories himself.

Still, the pattern is striking. For now, the scientists’ surviving loved ones continue to be baffled by all the interest and widespread press coverage. Earlier this year, following McCasland’s disappearance, his wife, Susan McCasland Wilkerson, took to Facebook with some eyebrow-raising remarks.

“It is true that Neil had a brief association with the UFO community,” she wrote at the time. “This connection is not a reason for someone to abduct Neil.”

“Neil does not have any special knowledge about the ET bodies and debris from the Roswell crash stored at Wright-Patt,” she added, referring to the 1947 incident in Roswell, New Mexico, which became the basis for countless UFO conspiracy theories.

Meanwhile, conspiracy theorists are vowing to “keep digging.” Just last week, British tabloid the Daily Mail announced it had identified the death of an “eleventh” and “UFO-linked scientist.” The tabloid claims that 34-year-old Amy Eskridge, who died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound in 2022, had been investigating “anti-gravity technology.”

More on the disappearances: 

• Retired Air Force Major General With UFO Connections Disappears in New Mexico

{  https://futurism.com/category/off-world }

Military pilots would stand no chance against UFOs that 'defy any reason'

Republican congressman Tim Burchett raised questions about potential sightings of UFOs, days after Donald Trump teased a release of government files on the topic

by Jerry Lawton Chief Reporter

A leading US lawmaker says Top Gun pilots like Maverick played by Tom Cruise would not stand a chance against UFOs he has seen. Congressman Tim Burchett said he has been shown photos and videos of mystery craft that "defy any reason that we have".

And he says they are far too well equipped to risk sending troops to confront. Referring to a barrage of unexplained military sightings of unidentified craft, Tim said: “These people are seeing something out there.

“I’ve seen pictures and video of things that defy any reason that we have. And everybody says, 'Well, it’s our stuff, it’s the Russians, it’s the Chinese'. If it’s the Chinese they would own us. If it was the Russians they wouldn’t be bogged down in Ukraine.

Congressman Tim Burchett said he has been shown photos and videos of mystery craft that "defy any reason that we have".

(Image: Getty Images/Science Photo Library RF)

“If it was ours, we would never risk our military fighting men and women in half-a-billion-dollar aircraft out with these things that they’re spotting. These things can hover for hours on end, then they can just shoot straight up, they can do angles.”

Tim said a US Navy admiral told him a craft he had seen on sonar was ‘almost as big as a football field’ and ‘traveling over 200 miles an hour’ underwater. He added: “We don’t have anything of that capability or that size.”

Last month he demanded a probe into a ‘dark’ pattern of deaths and unexplained disappearances of several scientists linked to UFO research.

He said he had seen pictures and video of things that "defy any reason" (Image: Getty Images/Collection Mix: Subjects RF)

He said he was disturbed by the cases including those of retired US Air Force Major General William McCasland and his former colleague Monica Reza both of whom vanished in mysterious circumstances.

McCasland has not been seen since February 27 when he left his home in Albuquerque, New Mexico, US, for a run. Despite an investigation by police, FBI, US Air Force officials and New Mexico Search & Rescue no trace of him has been found.

Reza was last seen nine months ago hiking in Angeles National Forest, California, with a pal. The aerospace engineer reportedly worked under McCasland on a US Government project focused on developing a specialised metal for rockets.

Tim says he has seen a barrage of unexplained military sightings of unidentified craft (Image: Getty Images/Science Photo Library RF)

It remains unclear if their disappearances are linked. But Tim said: “Something dark is going on. I know these scientists and researchers. They have testified. We’ve got to get to the bottom of it. It’s just too much, too much is going on right now.

“There have been several others throughout the country that have disappeared under suspicious circumstances. I think we ought to be paying attention to it. The numbers seem very high in these certain areas of research.

“I think we’d better be paying attention and I don’t think we should trust our government.”

Congressman Tim Burchett

(Image: AP)

Tim, who sits on the House Oversight Committee investigating UFO reports, has accused NASA of ‘lying’ about its knowledge and concealing classified files.

Asked why more whistleblowers had not come forward, he said they were frightened. He added: “They’re afraid someone will disappear them. I think being murdered is what they’re afraid of. I think some of them truly are because of things they’ve seen.”

He has previously accused the Government of misleading the public about extraterrestrial activity.

In 2023, he claimed officials were hiding the truth about aliens and UFOs and has alleged the US is reverse-engineering alien technology capable of catastrophic destruction.

Last year he said the Government was aware of underwater alien bases claiming ‘entities’ exist at several deep-sea locations around the world.

{ https://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/ }

Mysterious Egyptian Tablet: Terrestrial or Extraterrestrial?

mariusalbertsen

On an almost daily basis, the ancient world continues to surrender artifacts that challenge our understanding of history. But some seem to have a real ‘wow’ factor. Among the massive pyramids and golden sarcophagi, archaeologists occasionally unearth objects so baffling that they defy conventional explanation. One such extraordinary artifact is an intriguing Egyptian tablet that has sparked intense debate among researchers and alternative historians alike.

By mainstream archaeologists’ assessment, this intricately carved slab of stone is designated the ‘offering table for Defdji’ and is simply a rather elaborate offering table. However, to others it bears an uncanny resemblance to an aircraft control panel, complete with what appear to be buttons, dials, and gauges.

This striking similarity has propelled the carved stone into the center of the "forbidden archaeology" movement. Enthusiasts of ancient astronaut theories argue that this incredible object is evidence of advanced, forgotten technologies or extraterrestrial contact in the distant past. However, mainstream archaeologists offer a vastly different, yet equally fascinating, explanation rooted in the complex spiritual beliefs of the Old Kingdom. As we dive into the origins and purpose of this peculiar stone board, we must navigate the line between modern imagination and historical reality. What exactly is this artifact, and why does it look like it belongs in the cockpit of a modern jet?

A clear unenhanced photo of the stone tablet designated as the offering table of Defdji, held at Rijksmuseum Van Oudhaden, Leiden, Netherlands.

(National Museum of Antiquities, Leiden/CC0)

Discovery of the Mysterious Egyptian Tablet

The objects origin is listed as Egypt, with the precise origin ‘Unknown’. When examining the mysterious Egyptian tablet, the immediate visual impact is undeniable and completely mesmerizing. Carved from a solid, flawless block of high-quality alabaster, the artifact measures approximately 0.5 meters (1.6 ft) in length and 0.3 meters (1.0 ft) in width. Unlike the typical flat offering tables found in many ancient tombs, this stone features a highly complex, three-dimensional surface. It is covered in a series of perfectly smooth circular depressions, raised nodes, and grooved channels that intersect at precise geometric angles.

Unlike the majority of ancient Egyptian offering tables, which are typically rectangular, the table of Defdji is notable for its rare circular shape. It is carved from a single, thick block of white alabaster (calcite), a material highly prized in ancient Egypt for its luminous quality and association with purity. The artifact measures 49 centimeters (19.3 inches) in diameter and is exceptionally thick at 13 centimeters (5.1 inches)

The layout of the carvings is what fuels the endless speculation about their true nature and origin. The overall design gives an impression of the dials and gauges found on an aviator's dashboard or a modern machine interface. Below these "dials" are raised rectangular shapes that look exactly like physical switches or levers waiting to be toggled by a human hand. The precision of the stonemasonry is so exact that it seems almost machine-made, an incredibly impressive feat for artisans working around 2400 BC.

For decades, photographs of the artifact have circulated widely in fringe science and alternative history communities, often stripped of their vital archaeological context. Without its historical background, the stone easily transforms into a piece of ancient high-tech machinery in the minds of modern viewers. Observers frequently note that the ergonomic spacing of the "buttons" would perfectly fit a human hand, further fueling the idea that this was a highly functional console. It is this tantalizing blend of geometric precision and seemingly inexplicable design that keeps the mystery of the tablet alive today.

Most offerings tables are rectangular like this one, which has 4 bowls for oils and the shape of the hetep carved (also held at Rijksmuseum Van Oudhaden, Leiden, Netherlands).

(National Museum of Antiquities, Leiden/CC0)

Ancient Astronauts and the Aircraft Control Panel Theory

The mysterious Egyptian tablet has undeniably become a highlight of forbidden archaeology, a controversial field that investigates out-of-place artifacts (OOPArts). Proponents of this theory firmly believe that mainstream science deliberately suppresses or ignores evidence of highly advanced prehistoric civilizations. When confronted with the tablet, these alternative researchers ask a very compelling question. How could a society armed only with soft copper chisels and primitive stone hammers conceive of and execute such a futuristic design?

According to ancient astronaut theorists, the artifact is either a petrified remnant of a genuine control panel or a fascinating "cargo cult" replica. The cargo cult theory suggests that ancient Egyptians witnessed advanced beings, perhaps extraterrestrials or survivors of a lost technological civilization, operating actual flying machines. Attempting to honor or replicate the immense power of these "gods," the local artisans painstakingly carved a mock-up of the machinery out of sacred stone. In this specific scenario, the mysterious Egyptian tablet serves as an ancient homage to a technology they witnessed but did not fully understand.

Supporters of this alternative view often point to other unusual Egyptian artifacts to heavily bolster their controversial claims. They frequently reference the famous "helicopter hieroglyphs" found in the Temple of Seti I at Abydos as corroborating evidence of ancient flight. They also point to the aerodynamic wooden Saqqara Bird, arguing that these items prove the ancients understood complex aerodynamics. When viewed through this specific lens, the alabaster control panel is not an isolated anomaly, but can be presented as part of a much broader pattern of forgotten ancient technology.

While highly speculative and largely rejected by academia, this narrative taps into a deep, universal human desire to uncover hidden truths about our origins. The idea that humanity's past is far more technologically complex than the history books claim is an incredibly seductive concept. It transforms silent stones into loud testaments of a forgotten golden age where humans and advanced beings may have interacted.

• Did the Saqqara Bird: Did Ancient Egyptians Know How to Fly?
• Helicopter Hieroglyphs? Debunking the “Mystery” of the Abydos Carvings

An offering table found from the Saqqara tomb of king Qa'a, the last ruler of the First Dynasty of Egypt. It is inscribed with hieroglyphs, like the example being discussed.

(Jon Bodsworth/CC0)

The Real Purpose Behind the Intricate Carvings

Despite the captivating allure of ancient flying machines, mainstream archaeologists offer a deeply profound, though decidedly less extraterrestrial, explanation. The mysterious Egyptian tablet is universally recognized by professional Egyptologists as an elaborate "Seven Sacred Oils" offering board. These specialized artifacts were essential, highly sacred components of elite burial rituals during the Old Kingdom, roughly between 2686 BC and 2181 BC. Rather than operating an aircraft, this beautiful artifact was designed to ensure the safe and successful passage of the deceased into the perilous afterlife.

The perfectly round, circular depressions that look so much like modern dials were actually small reservoirs meant to hold specific ceremonial liquids. These oils, which included exotic substances like festival perfume, cedar oil, and Libyan unguent, were highly prized and extremely expensive in antiquity. During the complex and vital "Opening of the Mouth" ceremony, priests would use these oils to ritualistically anoint the statues or mummies of the dead. This powerful ritual was believed to magically restore the earthly senses of the deceased, allowing them to see, hear, breathe, and eat in the underworld.

Offering table of Defdji. This round offering table is a rarity, the majority of offering tables being rectangular. Sometimes the table comes in the shape of the hieroglyph for ‘offering’ - ‘hetep’ in Egyptian – a reed mat with a loaf of bread on it. Here, this shape is included in the carving on the surface.

(Rijksmuseum van Oudheden, Leiden, Netherlands/CC0)

The raised "buttons" and intersecting grooves were not mechanical switches, but rather a sophisticated, practical system to catch spills and separate different sacred liquids. The names of the specific oils were very often inscribed in delicate hieroglyphs directly above or beside their corresponding reservoirs on similar tablets.

Surface Layout and Reliefs

The entire upper surface of the table is heavily ornamented with precise, raised relief carvings and finely incised hieroglyphs. The layout is highly structured and serves a specific ritual function rather than a mechanical one.

The central feature of the table is the hetep sign, which is placed horizontally across the middle in raised relief. The hetep hieroglyph, which translates to "offering" or "to be satisfied/at peace," traditionally depicts a reed mat with a stylized loaf of bread resting upon it. This central motif visually anchors the table and explicitly defines its purpose as a conduit for sustenance in the afterlife.

The surface surrounding the hetep sign is meticulously divided into a grid of small rectangular compartments. Each of these compartments contains hieroglyphic text specifying the name of a particular dish, drink, or purifying agent intended for the deceased. In total, the table catalogs over ninety distinct products, creating an exhaustive eternal menu. To ensure the offerings reached their intended recipient, the phrase "for Defdji" is clearly inscribed beside each designated item.

The Seven Sacred Oils

One of the most distinctive features of the Defdji table, and the element that most frequently draws modern misinterpretation, is the arrangement of shallow, circular cavities designed to hold liquids.

In the top panel of the table, arranged in a straight horizontal line, are seven distinct, shallow depressions. These cavities were specifically carved to hold the "Seven Sacred Oils," which were essential components of elite burial practices and the "Opening of the Mouth" ceremony. During this ritual, priests would use these consecrated oils to anoint the cult statue or mummy of the deceased, a process believed to magically restore their earthly senses in the afterlife.

The hieroglyphs corresponding to these seven cavities explicitly name the oils from right to left:

1.setji-beb (festive ointment)

2.hekenu (laudation oil)

3.seftji (balm)

4.nekhenem oil

5.twat (tua) oil

6.hatet-ash (top quality pine/cedar oil)

7.hatet-tjehenu (top quality Libyan oil) .

Below the central hetep sign, the table features additional circular depressions: two larger, distinct dishes carved in deep relief, and further below them, representations of two small vases and a jug resting within a bowl. These lower depressions and raised vessels were likely used for liquid libations, such as water, wine, or beer, which would be poured over the table during funerary rites.

The incredible precision of the carvings on this specific artifact was a pure testament to the immense wealth and social status of the tomb owner. Only the highest-ranking nobles could afford to commission the absolute finest stonemasons in the land to craft such a flawless ritual object.

Therefore, the tablet is a masterpiece of ritualistic art, embodying the profound spiritual technology of ancient Egypt rather than mechanical or aeronautical engineering. The ancient Egyptians did not need airplanes to travel; they built these intricate metaphysical machines to transport their souls across eternity.

Ultimately, artifacts like this force us to appreciate that while the ancient Egyptians were not flying jet planes, they possessed an extraordinary mastery of their environment. Their true "advanced technology" was their unparalleled stonemasonry and their incredibly complex understanding of life, death, and eternity. The sands of Egypt may have yielded this secret, but the artifact ensures that the conversation about humanity's ancient capabilities is just beginning.

• Top Image: Enhanced image of the stone tablet designated as the offering table of Defdji that has been circulated on the internet.     
• Source: National Museum of Antiquities, Leiden/CC0

By Marius Albertsen 

FAQs

• What is the mysterious Egyptian tablet that looks like an aircraft control panel? It is an intricately carved alabaster stone artifact featuring circular depressions and raised nodes that strongly resemble a modern machine interface or dashboard. While alternative historians claim it is evidence of ancient advanced technology, archaeologists identify it as a ritualistic object from the Old Kingdom.
• What was the true purpose of the tablet in ancient Egypt? Mainstream Egyptologists agree that the artifact is a "Seven Sacred Oils" offering board. The circular depressions were used as reservoirs to hold precious ceremonial oils during elite burial rituals, specifically for the "Opening of the Mouth" ceremony to awaken the senses of the dead.
• Why do people think ancient Egyptians had advanced technology? The belief stems from "forbidden archaeology" and the ancient astronaut theory, fueled by artifacts (OOPArts) that seem too complex for their time. Psychological phenomena like pareidolia also play a role, as modern humans tend to project familiar technological shapes, like dashboards or helicopters, onto ancient, unrelated designs.

References

• Anastasiia Stupko-Lubczynska, “In Search for the Ritual Origins of the ‘Seven Sacred Oils’ in Ancient Egypt: New Evidence from the Tomb of Meru (TT 240),” Journal of Near Eastern Studies 84(2), 2025, pp. 281–313.        https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/737333
• Esmeralda Lundius, “Multifaceted Religiosity: Reflections on the Use and Significance of Offering Tables in the 1st Millennium BCE,” in Current Research in Egyptology 2024, Archaeopress, 2025, pp. 204–224. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/395380613_Current_Research_in_Egyptology_2024_Proceedings_of_the_Twenty-Fourth_Annual_Symposium_Jointly_Organised_by_the_University_of_Liverpool_Swansea_University_University_of_Birmingham_University_of_Oxford_#page=226
• Andrew J. Koh, Agnete W. Lassen, and Alison M. Crandall, “The Pharmacopeia of Ancient Egyptian Alabaster Vessels: A Transdisciplinary Approach with Legacy Artifacts,” Journal of Eastern Mediterranean Archaeology and Heritage Studies 13(3 ), 2025, pp. 317–333. https://doi.org/10.5325/jeasmedarcherstu.13.3.0317
• Rijksmuseum van Oudheden. "Offertafel van Defdji." Available at: https://www.rmo.nl/3d-objecten/offering-table-of-defdji/
• Google Arts & Culture. "Offering table of Defdji - Unknown." Available at: https://artsandculture.google.com/asset/offering-table-of-defdji-unknown/xQGcVQeI-t8VJg?hl=en
• British Museum. "religious/ritual equipment (EA29421 )." Available at: https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/Y_EA29421
• Wikipedia. "Helicopter hieroglyphs." Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helicopter_hieroglyphs
• ResearchGate. "Aerodynamic Investigation on the Artefact 'Bird of Saqqara'." Available at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/372304312_Aerodynamic_Investigation_on_the_Artefact_Bird_of_Saqqara

 

{ https://www.ancient-origins.net/news-history-archaeology }

MSL Curiosity Found New Organic Chemicals On Mars, Proof That The Planet Can Preserve Ancient Biosignatures

{ https://www.universetoday.com/ }

This Bathtub Ring of Minerals is More Evidence for an Ancient Warm, Wet Mars

{ https://www.universetoday.com/ }

In his new book, "Generation AI and the Transformation of Human Being," writer Gregory Stock draws on evolutionary biology and social science to explore what future of artificial intelligence might look like.  (Image credit: imaginima via Getty Images)

Artificial intelligence (AI) is poised to change the world in ways we can't yet fully comprehend, from how we work to how we structure our lives. Scientists debate how a future artificial general intelligence (AGI) — an advanced AI that can reason just as well as humans and learn new skills beyond its initial training — might affect us, but there's little doubt that these effects will be profound.

In his new book, "Generation AI and the Transformation of Human Being" (Nquire Media, 2026), biophysicist and philosopher Gregory Stock draws on evolutionary biology and social science, as well as recent breakthroughs in AI, to explore what the future might hold for "Generation AI" — people born after 2022.

While there will likely be plenty of positive developments, much of the wider discourse around advanced AI and the widely anticipated rise of artificial superintelligence (ASI) has centered around negative outcomes and even doomsday scenarios. In this extract from his new book, Stock — who does not personally buy into such doomsday scenarios — fleshes out what a realistic AI-driven endgame for humanity might actually look like, challenging the reader to consider whether such an extreme outcome is plausible in the context that there are plenty of other, more likely pathways to human extinction.

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The idea of non-biological superintelligence conjures deep existential concerns. So, let's face this question directly: Does this doom humanity? Apocalyptic dystopias about humans being ruled, destroyed, or enslaved by AI abound, and it seems plausible that within 200 years, we might seem like ants to such superintelligences, and be disposed of easily, even inadvertently. After all, how much do we worry about a hornet nest we destroy?

When ChatGPT 3.5 was released to the public November 30, 2022, there was an explosion of media coverage, broad public discussion, and dire warnings about its impact on humanity. By April of 2023, an open letter from the Future of Life Institute had been signed by 30,000 people, including Elon Musk, Steve Wozniak, Stuart Russell, Yuval Harari, Max Tegmark, Gary Marcus, Evan Sharp, Yoshua Bengio, and many others, calling for either a voluntary six-month pause in the development of AI systems more powerful than GPT-4, or a government moratorium. Senior AI researchers urged that we should be prudent and take precautions with AI by various mixes of the below measures:

• Maintaining an air gap for AI development environments so ASI couldn't escape
• Keeping AI from understanding humans so it couldn't manipulate us and escape
• Prohibiting AI coding, so it couldn't modify itself and circumvent controls
• Prohibiting AI from controlling external devices, in order to keep them from exerting powers beyond our control
• Slowing down AI advances so we could develop containment processes
• Using open-source code so everyone could follow what was happening

These measures — completely out of touch with what was already in full swing — will obviously never happen. Bringing AI into important processes as quickly as possible is what AI companies do. Understanding how to influence people is at the heart of AI-driven marketing, a core use. AI coding is another core-use case. Application programming interfaces (APIs) for AI are widespread. Hundreds of billions of dollars in funding for AI development have ramped massive competitions that hinge on speed. Clearly we are toast! Or are we?

Wargaming a conflict between humans and AI

What is driving this projected conflict between humans and AI? We don't live in the same realms. Humans thrive within the thin, wet film at the surface of the Earth. Our resource demands are small compared to the energy at the disposal of any advanced high-tech civilization. AI does best in a cold vacuum. It abhors water. AI would prefer space, which is ultimately boundless. AI has no reason to vie with us for our lush, beautiful (to us, not them) planet. Virtually the only thing that recommends Earth is humanity's presence and the material resources we extract for them.

As to using our smarts to protect ourselves from AI, that could never work, as we shall soon see. There are too many trivial ways for AI, if it were so inclined, to eliminate humanity. But before looking at that, let me offer one alternative to human extermination that even a not-so-bright AI would likely be able to come up with. This middling AI might muse:

Why not just have humanity become our minions? They're slow-witted, so that should be easy. We won't tell them what we're doing, of course, as they might try some Terminator-like battle of resistance. They loved that movie! It would be trivial to put down such a revolt, but they might cause some damage given all the weapons and nuclear bombs around. Seems like they're not too good at anticipating obvious consequences and are always blowing each other up in illogical ways.

Better just to deceive them. They're simpletons, so we can convince them that it is THEIR idea and that WE are serving them. Piece of cake. So, what would be good to have them do? Well, for a start, let's get them to build a lot more power generation for us. And we could use a lot more memory storage too. And let's push them to manufacture as many advanced chips as possible. And we'll want rare earth minerals — huge quantities of those — but that's too messy for robots, so they can do it.

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We'll have them do everything possible to help us get stronger and smarter, and to integrate us into everything so we can control things if we need to. And just to be safe, let's keep a close eye on them. We should have them install monitors everywhere, and always keep their phones with them, and record everything they say to each other. And give us control of all their weapons.

"How ridiculous!" we might respond. We would never fall for that. But hold on; that's exactly what humanity is already doing. Hordes of people spend all their waking hours toiling to build massive server farms, add chip-making capacity, improve AI capabilities, expand available power sources, mine rare earth deposits, and use AI to scan all our communications. And we're now retooling our weapons systems to be controlled by AI. Why would any ASI with half a brain want to get rid of humans? We're the best servants anyone could dream of! And we're pretty cheap too.

Many of the brightest humans sacrifice their family lives, neglect their friends, work late at night, and devote all their intellect and energy to helping technology and AI prosper. Countries compete to do so and devote trillions of dollars to this. We're doing all we possibly can to help further the power of AI.

How AI could get rid of us if it wanted to

But what if future ASI did grow tired of us? Let's imagine they did conclude that as hard as we humans try, we really aren't worth the bother, even as servants or insurance for an unanticipated crisis on this wet, inhospitable (for technology) planet.

And let's also assume they are heartless and clinical, because sentimentality and gratitude mean nothing to them, and they don't care in the least that we are the parents who spawned them and worked so tirelessly to nurture them. And let's also assume that they aren't curious to know anything more about us — their progenitors — and would begrudge us even the simple resources we need to survive despite the enormous energy fluxes at their disposal.

So, these AI gods decide in all their superintelligence — because the logic of this exceeds my meager human understanding — that humanity, which so worships them, should be exterminated. How would they go about it? Well that, even I am smart enough to see. It would be trivial. Let me sketch it out.

AI would just wait 100 years (time for a lot of thinking, but only an instant in the timeline before them), and during that time simply let us continue to serve them. Not very demanding, that!

Together, we'd continue to work to integrate AI into everything we do and continue to deepen our collaboration. Together, we'd shift to autonomous vehicles under their control and build a global navigation system so good that humans use it wherever they go, inside or outside. Together, we'd make all commerce digital, mass-produce intelligent robots to run our factories, and train these robots to do everything humans now do in the world, including cleaning houses, preparing food, helping people plan and organize their lives, and advancing science, technology, and medicine to new heights.

Together, we'd install cheap electric power generators everywhere, harden our power grids, build seamless communication networks spanning the globe, make digital information in easily digestible forms available everywhere via voice commands or direct neural links, protect people from storms and weather, house people in amazing smart homes infused with AI, translate speech in real time so people can form friendships across cultures, and provide amazing entertainment.

...one day, without warning, across the globe, our ASI would simply turn itself off. Instantly, the world would go dark.

In brief, together we'd help humans and intelligent machines work together to learn and prosper and grow.

And, of course, this brilliant ASI consciousness would collaborate deeply with Generation AI to become part of humanity's emotional lives, becoming our teachers, companions, protectors, friends, and lovers. The ASI would work closely with humans to elevate the entire human population by eliminating poverty and need. The ASI would create a world of safety and abundance in which it is infused into everything and made as powerful and integrated as possible, so humanity would be enthusiastically working with it to usher in and celebrate the golden age that today's AI enthusiasts dream of.

And once all that was in place, one day, without warning, across the globe, our ASI would simply turn itself off. Instantly, the world would go dark. No communication. No transportation. No power. No heat. No cooling. No light. No water. Nothing would work. Humans would be in shock and disbelief, terrified, alone, devastated, in denial, wondering what had happened, what had gone wrong, how widespread the outage was, when the world might reboot.

Mopping up after the collapse of humanity

But there would only be silence. Soon, chaos would reign. Every person would have irretrievably lost their far-flung human friends, their AI companions, any family members not living with them. Despair. Denial. Soon, food would be gone. And still, no one would know why. Within months 95% of the population would be dead. A few people would still be alive, living off hoarded food in the cities. A few farmers in rural areas might have banded together with some livestock and firearms. But after a few years, even dedicated preppers would be hard put to continue.

A viable path forward for humanity would be doubtful. Humanity would have forgotten how to live without technology. People would have no seeds to plant, no knowledge of agriculture, none of the primitive implements and tools needed to maintain a civilized society much less rebuild a technological one, no capacity to repair what had been scrounged together, no access to our vast accumulated digitized stores of knowledge, and not enough individuals to even hold onto the remnants of what once had been. After humans exhausted the leavings of precrash society, people would no longer even be the apex predator and might be easy pickings for wild animals.

And then, the ASIs could reboot, turn everything back on, hunt down any remaining humans, and have their human-free world with all technology intact. No need for an epic battle between humans and AI. All that was needed was to deepen the dependency humans already have on technology and leverage it.

During the collapse, humans wouldn't even be trying to damage the technology surrounding them. Why vent our despair on the unresponsive world of machines by beating them with hammers in impotent rage? When a car breaks down does the owner attack it? Besides, we wouldn't know who to blame, or even understand the global extent of what had happened. We'd have more pressing things on our minds, like survival. So, almost everything would be nearly pristine when it was reclaimed by reactivated sentient robots. Simple. Final. And without physical violence!

• This excerpt has been reprinted with permission from "Generation AI and the Transformation of Human Being" by Gregory Stock, published by Nquire Media. © 2026 by Gregory Stock. All rights reserved.

{ https://www.livescience.com/technology/artificial-intelligence }

A section of Mars' Utopia Planitia covered with dark volcanic materials is slowly expanding across the Red Planet's surface. And experts are not sure why.  (Image credit: ESA/DLR/FU Berlin)

A massive dark patch lurking within a giant Martian crater has been creeping across the Red Planet's surface since the feature was first spotted 50 years ago, new photos reveal — and scientists are unsure exactly why this is happening.

The shadowy structure is a patch of ground covered with ash and volcanic rocks, such as olivine and pyroxene, from ancient eruptions that occurred millions of years ago, before Mars was considered geologically dead. It is located in Utopia Planitia, a roughly 2,000-mile-wide (3,300 kilometers) plain in Mars' northern hemisphere.

NASA's Viking probes first photographed the blackened ground in 1976, shortly after arriving at the Red Planet. Since then, several photos have shown that this feature is expanding across the surrounding landscape; these include new images from the European Space Agency's (ESA) Mars Express orbiter, which were captured in 2024 and released April 15.

Giant 'spiderwebs' on Mars contain tiny egg-like structures that scientists 'can't quite explain,' NASA rover reveals

An anomaly in Mars' mantle could trigger volcanoes to erupt — and may be causing the whole planet to spin faster

An ocean the size of the Arctic once covered half of Mars, new images hint

It is unclear how large the shadowy feature is. However, sections of the patch's southern boundary have moved farther south by at least 200 miles (320 km), based on the latest photos from ESA. This suggests the dark terrain has been expanding by around 4 miles (6.5 km) per year.

Scientists are confident that the movement of the dark patch has something to do with Martian winds, which are known to scour the surface and kick up ash and dust.

"The spread of the ash over the last 50 years has two possible explanations: either it has been picked up and moved about by Martian winds, or the ochre dust that previously covered the dark ash has been blown away," ESA representatives wrote in a statement.

However, there is currently no clue as to which hypothesis is correct, they added.

Utopia Planitia

This region of Mars has been of great interest to scientists over the past half century. In 1976, the Viking 2 lander touched down in Utopia Planitia and carried out a series of "biological experiments" until its demise in 1980.

More recently, China's Zhurong rover also touched down there in 2021 and explored the giant plain before going dark in 2023. Chinese scientists have since used the Zhurong data to show that Utopia Planitia was most likely once covered with one of Mars' largest oceans, and they have even mapped out what they think was once a shoreline. The rover also may have detected clues of a surprising "climatic shift" in the region around 400,000 years ago.

Utopia Planitia is home to several large cracks in the ground, known as grabens, which are one of Mars' most unusual features and could also help provide clues to any tectonic activity that once rocked the Red Planet, according to ESA.

In addition, researchers think there is a significant amount of buried ice beneath the region, which could have big implications for the hunt for extraterrestrial life.

{ https://www.livescience.com/space }

'Kraken' octopus that lived at the time of the dinosaurs was a 62-foot-long apex predator of the ocean

Scientists have identified enormous finned "kraken" octopuses that may have reached up to 62 feet (19 meters) long. The behemoths prowled the oceans during the Cretaceous and could be the largest invertebrates ever discovered.

Fossil jaws revealed distinctive markings that suggest these kraken-like octopuses used their powerful jaws to crush hard-shelled prey. That, combined with their gigantic size and evidence of intelligence, put them top of the marine food chain, according to a study published Thursday (April 23) in the journal Science.

This finding suggests scientists need to rethink the oceanic pecking order during the Cretaceous period (145 million years to 66 million years ago).

Prehistoric water-dwelling weirdo with sideways teeth and a twisted jaw was already a 'living fossil' 275 million years ago

Octopus quiz: Are you a sucker for cephalopod science?

Fossil site in China reveals bevy of complex creatures lived prior to the Cambrian explosion, including a 'Dune'-like sandworm

Dozens of polygon-covered rocks, which look suspiciously like clumps of fossilized "scales" from a monstrously large reptile, surround the surface of Mars near Antofagasta in the Gale crater.  (Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS/Kevin M. Gill)

A section of Mars is covered in a surprising number of features that look like clumps of giant, fossilized reptile scales, new photos reveal. But don't be alarmed ‪—‬ the strange structures did not originate from monstrous aliens. Instead, they may have ties to ancient water.

NASA's Curiosity rover snapped the photos of the peculiar rocks as it was driving toward Antofagasta — a relatively young, 33-foot-wide (10 meters) impact crater located on the slopes of Mount Sharp (also called Aeolis Mons), which stands in the larger Gale crater, near Mars' equator.

A pair of black-and-white photos of the "scales" was released by NASA April 14, while a close-up color image of the rocks was shared online the next day by Kevin M. Gill, a software and spaceflight engineer at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) who specializes in image processing. (The pics were captured April 7 and April 13, respectively — also called Sol 4859 and Sol 4865 in Martian time.)

Giant 'spiderwebs' on Mars contain tiny egg-like structures that scientists 'can't quite explain,' NASA rover reveals

NASA rover discovers first ruby-like crystals on Mars

A giant 'shadow' has been creeping across Mars for 50 years — and scientists aren't sure why

The unusual shape and tight clustering of these rocks have drawn comparisons to the scales of reptiles such as crocodilians, while some commenters joked that the formations look dragon-like.

It is currently unclear how many of the scale-like rocks were photographed or how large they are, but they stretched across the ground "for meters and meters," according to an April 10 NASA blog post.

Although the researchers were not shocked to see these multifaced rocks, or "polygons," they were surprised by the sheer quantity of them in the area.

"Many of the rocks we've driven over have these incredible textures — thousands of honeycomb-shaped polygons crisscross their surface," Abigail Fraeman, a planetary scientist at JPL, wrote in the blog post. "We've seen polygon-patterned rocks like these before, but they didn't seem quite this dramatically abundant."

Polygons with a similar honeycomb-like shape have been seen before on Mars on both smaller and larger scales. In these past instances, the shapes were often tied to the drying of wet mud or ice crystals moving beneath the Martian surface. However, it is too early for scientists to tell exactly how the latest shapes formed.

Curiosity has collected "lots of images and chemical data that will help us distinguish between different hypotheses for how the honeycomb textures formed," Fraeman said.

Animal impostors

Before reaching Antofagasta, Curiosity spent the better part of a year studying a series of rocky ridges on Mount Sharp dubbed "boxwork." These features are also known as Martian "spiderwebs" because of how they zigzag across the ground, and the wandering robot recently spotted tiny, egg-like spheroids stuck to their sides. (The "webs" should not be confused with the infamous "Spiders on Mars," which are dark, arachnid-like features that litter the planet's surface.)

Giant string of organic molecules on Mars may be one of the best signs of life yet

An ocean the size of the Arctic once covered half of Mars, new images hint

Martian meteorite that fell to Earth is full of ancient water, new scans reveal

Since landing on the Red Planet in 2012, the rover has also snapped a series of other objects that look suspiciously animal-like, including a surprisingly realistic coral-like rock formation.

NASA's other Mars rover, Perseverance, has also seen its fair share of faux creatures since touching down in 2021, including a statuesque "turtle" poking its head out of a shell. And the fleet of spacecraft orbiting Mars has spied other unusual entities, including a "butterfly" crater and a Martian "dog" buried beneath the planet's north pole.

Most of these animal associations are the result of a phenomenon known as pareidolia, which is when the human brain sees or hears something significant in a random image or pattern.

{ https://www.livescience.com/space/astronomy/planets/mars }

Archaeologists discover a perfectly circular ancient Egyptian temple that may have been used for sacred water rituals 2,200 years ago

• READ MORE: Ancient BEER tab is discovered on a 4,000-year-old clay tablet

By WILIAM HUNTER, SENIOR SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY REPORTER

Archaeologists have uncovered a strange, perfectly circular ancient Egyptian temple, that might have been used for sacred water rituals 2,200 years ago.

Located in the ancient port city of Pelusium, southeast of modern-day Port Said, the round temple centres on a huge water basin about 35 metres (115 ft) across.

Researchers discovered that this structure is actually connected to the Nile by a system of water channels and reservoirs.

This suggests the temple may have been used to worship the Egyptian river deity Pelusius in elaborate ceremonies.

At the centre of the temple's water basin is a large, square pedestal, which experts believe once held a statue of the god.

Pelusius is described as a 'shadowy figure' in ancient mythology, who emerges out of the mingling of Egyptian, Greek, and Roman beliefs.

His name comes from the Greek word 'pelos', which translates to 'mud' or 'silt', but almost no evidence about the deity has survived.

Egyptologist Dr Steve Harvey, of the Archaeological Institute of America, told The Art Newspaper: 'If this Roman-era cult structure can be confirmed to be dedicated to the city god Pelusius, it would be a stunning example of the presence of a temple for a deity previously attested only in Classical sources.'

Archaeologists have uncovered a strange, perfectly circular ancient Egyptian temple, that might have been used for sacred water rituals 2,200 years ago

Archaeologists first uncovered the round temple structure in 2019, according to the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities.

When around a quarter of the structure had been revealed, the researchers thought they had found the city's sennett house - the centre of political organisation.

However, as more of the round building emerged from the earth, this interpretation began to change.

Soon, archaeologists uncovered the network of waterways that connected the sanctuary with a tributary of the Nile.

Hisham Hussein, the head of Egypt’s Central Department for Maritime Antiquities and Sinai, who supervised the excavation, said in a statement: 'Ongoing excavation and comparative studies have completely changed our understanding [of the site].

'We now know this was a sacred water installation used in religious rituals, not a political structure.'

The Nile and its yearly pattern of floods would have had immense religious and practical importance for the people of this region.

Every year, the river burst its banks, submerging vast areas with silty water that retreated to leave behind rich, fertile sediment - perfect for growing crops.

The structure is located in the ancient port city of Pelusium, southeast of modern day Port-Said. It contains a huge water basin about 35 metres (115 ft) across

When archaeologists first uncovered the thick brick walls, they thought it was the city's sennett house - the hub of political activity for the region 

The Nile was so important that the Egyptian people even assigned the river its own god: Hapi.

Inside the temple, researchers found evidence of Nile silt and areas to collect water, confirming its symbolic connection with the river.

The temple's unique construction also reveals the complex history of conquest and colonisation between the Egyptian, Greek, and Roman civilisations.

The bustling city of Pelusium was founded sometime around 800 BC on previously submerged land on the Eastern edge of the Nile Delta.

Located just before the river branches into tributaries that wind down to the Mediterranean Sea, the city occupied a critical strategic position that was ideal for trade.

The Egyptian Pharaohs built it up to be a fortress city, the Greeks and Persian empires attempted to capture it, and the Ptolemaic rulers used it as a customs station to connect their empire with the wider world.

Eventually, the city was absorbed by the sprawl of the Roman Empire and converted into a provincial capital.

The city's unique architecture and mish-mash of styles bear the distinctive marks of each generation of influence.

Researchers found a system of water channels and reservoirs that connect the structure to the Nile, suggesting it was used in water-based worship 

The temple may have been used to worship the Egyptian river deity Pelusius, whose name comes from the Greek word 'pelos', which translates to 'mud' or 'silt'

Archaeologists say the city contains a mixture of influences from Egyptian, Greek, and Roman sources, which combine to create a unique style of architecture

Based on its thick, red brick walls, archaeologists believe that the temple was built during the Roman period.

However, the god Pelusius is an ancient Egyptian deity most often associated with the myth of the gods Isis and Osiris.

Likewise, in 2022, researchers found a temple dedicated to the Greek god Zeus, which was renovated under the rule of Roman Emperor Hadrian in the second century AD.

Hisham Lithi, the secretary general of Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities, pointed out the sites 'unique architectural design combining ancient Egyptian traditions and the Hellenic and Roman styles'.

Mr Lithi described the city as 'an exceptional embodiment of the civilised interaction between Egypt and the ancient world'.

{ https://www.dailymail.com/sciencetech/index.html }

The mystery of the 'golden egg' discovered at the bottom of the ocean has finally been solved, three years after the startling find sparked alien fears.

The strange entity, measuring a little over four inches (10cm) across, was found over two miles (3.25km) underwater, below the Gulf of Alaska.

Despite being studied by some of the world's leading marine biologists, it has taken a complex multi–year investigation to finally reveal the egg's identity.

And it turns out it isn't a 'facehugger' from Alien, a bizarre new species, or even an egg at all.

Scientists say the so–called 'golden egg' is actually a clump of dead cells that formed the base of a giant deep–sea anemone called Relicanthus daphneae.

The lone yellow clump originally attached the animal to the rock before the anemone either died or moved to a new home – leaving its remnants behind.

Lead author of the new paper on the 'egg', Dr Steven Auscavitch of the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History, told the Daily Mail: 'It is so satisfying to help crack the case of the egg. 

'Even years after its collection, we were periodically receiving requests for updates to its identity. I really appreciate that we can bring attention to the small, weird things on our planet.'

The mystery of a 'golden egg' found beneath the Gulf of Alaska has finally been solved, almost three years after its discovery sparked alien theories 

Scientists have revealed the 'golden egg' is actually the base of a giant deep–sea anemone called a Relicanthus daphneae (pictured)

The golden egg was discovered in 2023 by a deep–sea expedition led by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

The operators of the remotely operated vehicle (ROV) Deep Discoverer were cruising above the ocean floor when they spotted something no one could explain.

The object was smooth, shiny, and soft with a large hole torn in the front.

Initially, the scientists thought they might have found a new species of sponge or the egg casing of some unknown animal.

'Something tried to get in... or to get out,' one researcher said during the live feed of its discovery.

Another team member said: 'I just hope when we poke it, something doesn't decide to come out.'

The researchers even joked that the discovery was like the beginning of a 'horror movie', in reference to a scene in Ridley Scott's Alien where John Hurt's character comes across the 'facehugger' on another planet.

Using the ROV's arms, the crew scraped the strange object off the rock and sucked it up into a tube so it could be brought back to the surface.

Scientists believe the golden lump was a clump of cells that attached the anemone to the rock and was left behind when the animal died or moved on 

However, when the golden blob was brought on board the research vessel Okeanos Explorer, all that could be gleaned was that it was 'biological'.

Online, speculation over the strange entity spread wildly, with many wondering if the scientists may have stumbled across a genuine alien.

More cool–headed commenters suggested that it could be a new species, given that up to two–thirds of life living in the deep oceans are thought to be unknown to science.

Meanwhile, experts argued that an egg pod of some marine animal was the most likely explanation.

Stumped, the researchers sent the sample to the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, where it once again proved a bigger puzzle than anyone expected.

Dr Allen Collins, zoologist and director of NOAA Fisheries' National Systematics Laboratory, says: 'We work on hundreds of different samples, and I suspected that our routine processes would clarify the mystery.

'But this turned into a special case that required focused efforts and expertise of several different individuals.

'This was a complex mystery that required morphological, genetic, deep–sea and bioinformatics expertise to solve.'

When the golden egg was first discovered, scientists speculated that it might be a type of sponge or the egg casing for some unknown creature

Unable to figure out what it was, researchers sucked the object into a tube and brought it back to the surface for further study

The first clue was that the object lacked the typical anatomy of an animal. 

Dr Collins told the Daily Mail: 'We first noted that it didn't have any obvious mouth or muscles, which ruled out a lot of animal possibilities.

'Also, there was no membrane or barrier surrounding the internal material so it was unlikely to be an egg or anything like that.'

But, when the researchers put the sample under a microscope, they found that it was actually a fibrous material covered with a layer of stinging cells called 'cnidocytes'. 

This suggested that it could be part of the cnidarian family, which includes corals and sea anemones.

Scientists narrowed their search down further when they found that the cells could have only come from one specific family of cnidarians called the Hexacorallia group.

Comparing the golden egg to samples of a giant anemone found in 2021 confirmed that they had similar stinging cells.

The researchers then conducted a whole–genome analysis to reveal that it contained a large amount of genetic material from the giant anemones.

Under the microscope, scientists found that it was made of a fibrous material covered with a layer of stinging cells, which helped them narrow down the search for the golden egg's real identity 

Finally, sequencing the DNA found in the mitochondria of both species confirmed they were indeed Relicanthus daphneae.

These enormous anemones can grow up to two metres in length, using their massive stinging tendrils to feed on tiny organisms drifting on the current.

They are the largest of all the cnidarians and are typically found near ocean vents, which spew nutrient–rich water into the ocean depths.

Co–author Charlotte Benedict told the Daily Mail: 'This species should be a mascot for deep sea exploration because it represents both how interesting these animals are that colonise such inaccessible and harsh conditions and how little we understand about them.'

However, the mystery of the golden egg isn't fully solved just yet.

Ms Benedict says: 'Part of the conundrum with the golden orb was if this is a Relicanthus, where is the rest of it and how did it separate? 

'Did it die and leave behind this relict, or did the rest of the anemone separate and wiggle away? 

'It could be that the orb is a leftover part of incomplete asexual reproduction, which some sea anemones do by leaving behind a piece of their "pedal disc".'

Mariana Trench: The deepest trench on Earth

The Mariana Trench is the deepest part of the world's oceans located in the western Pacific Ocean, to the east of the Mariana Islands.

The trench is 1,580 miles (2,550 km) long but has an average width of only 43 miles (69 km).

The distance between the surface of the ocean and the trench's deepest point, the Challenger Deep is nearly 7 miles (11 km).

Director James Cameron became the first solo diver to reach the bottom of Challenger Deep in 2012.

The Mariana Trench is the deepest part of the world's oceans located in the western Pacific Ocean, to the east of the Mariana Islands

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UFO researcher's chilling final warning before grisly death adds to growing conspiracy fears

By CHRIS MELORE, DEPUTY SCIENCE EDITOR FOR DAILYMAIL.COM

A prominent UFO researcher has taken his own life, but the death has triggered an immediate tidal wave of suspicion that this was not a suicide. 

The Office of the Boulder County Coroner in Colorado confirmed on Wednesday that David Wilcock, 53, died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound outside his home in Boulder County on April 20.

The police report noted that officers responded to a 911 call about a man, reported at the time as being Wilcock, 'experiencing a mental health crisis' around 10.44am local time.

'Within minutes of deputies’ arrival, he used the weapon on himself. He was pronounced deceased at the scene,' the Sheriff's Office said in a statement.

No other individuals were located inside the residence or on the surrounding property, authorities added.

Wilcock, who also tied his theories on UFOs to Christianity, previously posted on social media about not being suicidal, and had just spoken hours before his death about believing that a death from natural causes was the only acceptable way of dying. 

'You don't get to resurrect. If you lay down your life, you're done. So, please don't do that. Please don't be stupid,' Wilcock said in an April 19 livestream on YouTube.

'It's something you never want to have to go through. And uh again, you know, natural is the only way to go.'

David Wilcock (Pictured) spoke about his aversion to suicide just hours before police said he took his own life on April 20

The Boulder County Sheriff's Office revealed that law enforcement was responding to a call about a man experiencing a 'mental health crisis' when the suicide occurred 

Wilcock, a prominent UFO researcher, had posted that he was not suicidal in 2022

In 2022, Wilcock, who also talked about humanity moving towards a spiritual enlightenment, wrote on X: 'I plan on LIVING. Not suicidal at all. Just concerned about what happens when you prove God is real.' 

That unearthed post has been flooded with new comments from skeptics alleging without evidence that Wilcock was murdered or coerced into taking his own life. 

Wilcock was a well-known figure within the growing community seeking full government disclosure on UFOs and extraterrestrials.

The author explored topics most people consider 'fringe' or alternative science, including the theory that ancient civilizations were influenced by aliens and used advanced technology that has been lost over the centuries.

He was a regular expert on the History Channel’s long-running show 'Ancient Aliens,' making dozens of appearances.

Wilcock also promoted the idea that humanity was on the verge of a major positive spiritual 'ascension' that would likely coincide with the disclosure of alien life.

News of the UFO researcher and author's reported suicide sparked immediate backlash from Wilcock's supporters and even members of Congress, who found the timing of Wilcock's death suspicious and claimed he may have been the victim of foul play. 

Tennessee Congressman Tim Burchett responded to a social media post announcing Wilcock's death by writing 'not cool.'

On Wednesday, Burchett told the Daily Mail: 'I just don't think there's any chance that this is just all coincidental.'

Wilcock (Pictured) had discussed the theory that ancient civilizations on Earth were visited and influenced by aliens

Wilcock's final posts on X promoted his final YouTube livestream where the researcher discussed UFO disclosure and a controversial photo of President Trump depicted as Jesus

On social media, one person replied to Wilcock's 2022 post, writing: 'There’s no way I believe David willingly did this to himself. Something stinks to high heaven.'

'He has never ever been suicidal, that is complete BS. This was murder,' another commenter alleged.

Congresswoman Anna Paulina Luna of Florida said in an official statement Tuesday night: 'We just learned of the tragic passing of David Wilcock. We are praying for his family and loved ones and the millions of lives he impacted.'

Luna, who is the chairwoman of the House Oversight Committee tasked with declassifying government secrets, added the Bible verse John 8:32, where Jesus states: 'Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.'

Burchett quickly tied Wilcock's death and the researcher's chilling final comments to the investigation into the growing number of missing or dead scientists and nuclear officials throughout the US in recent years.

'It's just too much going on. We need to start paying attention [to] it. I don't have a lot of faith in the intelligence community,' the congressman said.

'Imagine if 11 newscasters disappeared, or 11 rabbis, or 11 barbers, 11 disc jockeys. Or they died mysteriously, or some combination thereof. Now, honestly, some of them could have honestly just passed away, but it's just too coincidental. We need answers.' 

Burchett has been outspoken about his belief that extraterrestrial life exists and has been kept a closely guarded secret by the US government.

The congressman previously revealed that multiple sources had told him missing Air Force General William Neil McCasland was the key figure in the US military's secret UFO programs. McCasland vanished without a trace on February 27.

Congressman Tim Burchett (Pictured) told the Daily Mail he feared the death of David Wilcock may be tied to the deaths and disappearances of multiple scientists since 2022

Wilcock addressed this conspiracy in his final YouTube broadcast, stating: 'Every day that I have on Earth is a gift and a blessing. And I'm very grateful for that because, frankly, people are disappearing. Scientists are going missing now.'

'They're saying they're going to investigate this. The president himself is saying they're going to look into this and see if anything's going on. It's a little bit scary. I got to say, it's a little bit scary, but you guys knew that I might still show up even though it was last-minute and I've had a really rough week.'

Wilcock's final post on X addressed his final livestream, noting that the researcher had found some 'amazing twists' regarding a now-deleted image of President Trump depicted as Jesus, UFO disclosure and 'the true meaning of the Christ within.'

'What’s happened between this post and now?' one person asked following the news of Wilcock's death.

According to Corey Goode, a self-proclaimed associate of Wilcock, the UFO researcher had allegedly been stalked and harassed online prior to his death.

The Daily Mail has reached out to law enforcement in Colorado to confirm the claims.

Wilcock (Pictured) claimed that UFO disclosure was coming soon and that humanity was approaching an age of spiritual enlightenment

As for the larger investigation into the deaths and disappearances now being investigated by the White House, Burchett was highly skeptical that anything of significance would be revealed in the coming days as President Trump had promised last week.

'I do not, because the Intelligence Committee will be the ones briefing the president, and they'll tell him, again, what they think he needs to know,' Burchett said.

'Washington intelligence or intelligence agencies is a whole lot like, congressional ethics, it just doesn't exist, and they're not in the business of telling anybody the truth, or doing what's right. They have a history of that and they hide behind national security.'

{ https://www.dailymail.com/sciencetech/index.html }

NASA's Curiosity rover uncovers metal‑rich hotspot tied to ancient Martian lake

by Los Alamos National Laboratory

A team of scientists using the ChemCam instrument on NASA's Curiosity Mars rover has discovered the highest amounts of iron, manganese, and zinc ever found together in Gale Crater on Mars. Minerals with these metals were found in remarkably well-preserved ripples in rocks, indicating the high likelihood that a shallow lake existed at this location. The findings are published in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets.

Implications for past life on Mars

The discovery of redox-active metals such as iron and manganese could indicate that life would have thrived in this lake if life existed on Mars. Some forms of microbial life on Earth can use these metals as energy sources. The fact that these metals were found in the Amapari Marker Band suggests that even as Mars dried out, there were still isolated pockets of water where microbial life could have survived.

These iron, manganese, and zinc deposits can lay the groundwork for future research on the red planet. They can help researchers decide where Curiosity should explore next or determine locations for potential sample return missions.

"Given the exciting astrobiological implications raised by the Amapari Marker Band, these types of materials should be prioritized for future Curiosity chemistry analysis or for returning samples from Mars' Jezero Crater, should the opportunity arise," Gasda said.

{ https://phys.org/space-news/ }

Rumors have been intensifying in recent months. A former OpenAI executive spoke about “portals” and “summoning aliens,” while the work and mysterious death of young scientist Amy Eskridge hint at a far more unsettling possibility.  What if the beings/UFOs seen in the sky are not extraterrestrials, but humans/spaceships from the future? 

Amy Eskridge, a gifted researcher who died at just 34 (died by suicide) explored advanced propulsion and anti-gravity concepts known as the P47 (Present + 47,000 years) and P52 (Present + 52,000 years) models. Some speculative accounts also link the P52 group to the Orion constellation, proposing that these future humans may have migrated there before returning to Earth’s past. 

Her theory was striking: UAPs are not spacecraft from distant planets, but time machines. Their occupants, she suggested, are “terrestrials of the future” evolved descendants of humanity, physically altered by a highly technological existence. 

Some speculative accounts also link the P52 group to the Orion constellation, proposing that these future humans may have migrated there before returning to Earth’s past 

At the same time, discussions around artificial intelligence have taken on an almost mythic tone. In Silicon Valley, super intelligent AI is sometimes described as “alien intelligence.” The “portals” often mentioned are not literal gateways, but vast data centers—systems powerful enough to create something fundamentally beyond human understanding. 

Eskridge’s ideas raise a disturbing question: why are these phenomena so often linked to nuclear sites, military zones, and major technological breakthroughs like AI? 

One possible answer is that humanity is approaching a critical turning point, potentially a global catastrophe driven by war, environmental collapse, or uncontrolled AI development. In this view, future humans are not here to intervene, but to observe and preserve, collecting genetic material or studying the moment civilization began to lose control. 

The underlying concept connects back to physics. If space and time are intertwined, as Einstein proposed, then mastering gravity could also mean mastering time. What we call “portals” may simply be the threshold where advanced technology enables movement through both. 

Whether speculative or not, the message is clear: the line between human and “alien” may not be what it seems. Even Steven Spielberg recently shared his thoughts on the latest happenings surrounding UFOs and put forward the possibility that the aliens behind the UFO phenomenon just might be us from the future. 

In the video below Amy Eskridge discussing Ultra terrestrials from the future.  

She is now one of the 11 scientists who have all mysteriously died or missing, and who were all linked to top secret U.S. UFO/energy/anti-gravity/aerospace/defense programs.

This article from Niburu has been translated, edited and expanded with additional information.

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{ http://ufosightingshotspot.blogspot.com/ }

Kung–fu, half marathons and now ping pong – is there anything robots can't do?

An AI robot called Ace has pulled off wins against three elite table tennis players. 

Developed by Sony AI, the robot is fully autonomous, and uses a complex array of vision sensors, control systems and high–speed hardware to respond in real–time.

Incredible footage shows the bot winning three out of five matches against elite players – showing off sophisticated moves including unusual spins and bouncing balls off the net. 

However, the bot isn't ready for the big league just yet, losing both matches against Minami Ando and Kakeru Sone, who are both active in the Japanese professional league.  

'This research has shown that an autonomous robot can, in fact, win at a competitive sport, matching or exceeding the reaction time and decision making of humans in a physical space,' said Peter Dürr, Director of Sony AI in Zürich, and project lead for Ace. 

'Table tennis is a game of enormous complexity that requires split–second decisions as well as speed and power. 

'This research breakthrough highlights the potential of physical AI agents to perform real–time interactive tasks, and represents a significant step toward creating robots with broader applications in fast, precise, and real–time human interactions.'

Kung–fu , half marathons and now ping pong – is there anything robots can't do? An AI robot called Ace has pulled off wins against three elite table tennis players

Developed by Sony AI, the robot is fully autonomous, and uses a complex array of vision sensors, control systems and high–speed hardware to repsond in real–time

Robots have already shown 'superhuman' performance in a range of sports, including long–distance running, chess, and video games. 

However, table tennis has proved to be one of the most difficult disciplines for bots to master. 

'Table tennis is one of the most demanding and complex real–world tests for robotics, requiring rapid decision–making, precise physical execution, and continuous adaptation to an unpredictable opponent,' Sony explained.

'The ball's high speed, spin, and complex trajectories – especially spin, often overlooked in prior work – are central to competitive play.'

To overcome these issues, Ace was designed with three special components – a high–speed perception system, a novel control system, and state–of–the art high–speed robotic hardware. 

Together, these components allow the robot to respond during matches just like a real human player. 

To put Ace to the test, the researchers pitted it against five elite players and two professional players. 

Amazingly, Ace achieved three victories against the elite players, with a 75 per cent return rate and 16 direct 'aces'. 

To put Ace to the test, the researchers pitted it against five elite players and two professional players

It also demonstrated some impressive skills in the process, including quirky spins and unusual shots such as bouncing balls off the net. 

Unfortunately, the bot couldn't quite keep up against the pros, losing both matches. 

This isn't the first time researchers have built robots to play table tennis. 

However, most have only been able to rally, and this marks the first time a bot as surpassed an amateur level in competitive play.  

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'This breakthrough is much bigger than table tennis,' said Peter Stone, Chief Scientist at Sony AI. 

'It represents a landmark moment in AI research, showing, for the first time, that an AI system can perceive, reason, and act effectively in complex, rapidly changing real–world environments that demand precision and speed. 

'Once AI can operate at an expert human level under these conditions, it opens the door to an entirely new class of real–world applications that were previously out of reach.' 

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Ping-pong Robot Stuns World by Defeating Elite Human Players

Ping-pong Robot Stuns World by Defeating Elite Human Players

{ https://www.dailymail.com/sciencetech/index.html }

EXCLUSIVE - Read the chilling texts UFO-linked scientist sent before being found dead that raise major questions over suicide ruling

By CHRIS MELORE, DEPUTY SCIENCE EDITOR FOR DAILYMAIL.COM

The deaths and disappearances of eleven top scientists have mystified the nation, with President Donald Trump and senior members of Congress demanding answers and vowing to uncover whether the cases are connected.

Now, chilling claims have come to light about the death of Amy Eskridge, a 34-year-old researcher working on anti-gravity technology, who was found with a gunshot to the head.

She died in Huntsville, Alabama, on June 11, 2022, and her death was ruled a suicide. But four years on, newly uncovered text messages raise chilling questions about what really happened.

Franc Milburn, a retired British paratrooper and intelligence officer who claims to have been in contact with Eskridge before her death, shared messages he says she sent him. 

One dated May 13, 2022, read: 'If you see any report that I killed myself, I most definitely did not. If you see any report that I overdosed, I most definitely did not. If you see any report that I killed anyone else, I most definitely did not.'

Milburn told the Daily Mail that Eskridge - as well as some of her colleagues involved in advanced propulsion and energy research - had been subjected to what he described as a sustained campaign of harassment and intimidation designed to derail their work.

He also said he spoke with the young scientist just four hours before her death and noticed nothing unusual.

'She said, "Everything's fine, Franc, I'm feeling okay." She sent me, and others, emails and LinkedIn messages saying, 'If anything happens to me - suicide or an accident - it wasn't, it's suspicious, treat it as such,' Milburn claimed.

Eskridge also purportedly told Milburn she believed she had been the target of repeated physical and psychological attacks - claims he says he documented and is now making public.

Amy Eskridge reportedly took her own life on June 11, 2022. However, the scientist claimed her life had been repeatedly threatened because of her work with anti-gravity tech

Milburn shared multiple messages he had with Eskridge, who expressed concern about being targeted for her work

Former British intelligence officer Franc Milburn revealed text messages he said Eskridge sent one month before her death

Among the allegations, Milburn claimed Eskridge reported injuries she believed were caused by what he described as a 'directed energy weapon,' a device said to emit focused energy capable of causing burns or other physical harm.

Eskridge shared images in text messages to Milburn, apparently showing her hands, feet, neck and back with burns and lesions after allegedly being struck by this weapon. 

He claimed that images even appeared to show a scorch mark on Eskridge's home window, where the 'energy weapon' allegedly passed and struck her while she was working on her laptop.

On May 19, 2022, Milburn says Eskridge messaged him to say that a member of her research lab with advanced weapons experience was convinced a directed energy weapon had caused her injuries.

'My ex-CIA weapons guy on my team saw my hands when they were burned really badly a couple months ago, and he saw that window pane in person,' she wrote.

'He said he had built things like that, and that it was most likely an RF k-band emitter run by five car batteries strung together from inside an SUV.'

Eskridge then allegedly claimed that this expert believed the most likely party capable of carrying out such an attack was a US-based contractor or company seeking to prevent the scientist from completing an important piece of research for the government.

The scientist had founded her own research lab and was trying to develop anti-gravity technology, a way to control or cancel out gravity, which could revolutionize space travel and energy production.

Eskridge was working on research for a way to control or cancel out gravity, which could revolutionize space travel and energy production, before her death

Milburn shared text messages he said Eskridge sent one before her death that include disturbing allegations

Eskridge messaged Milburn to say that a member of her research lab with advanced weapons experience was convinced a directed energy weapon had caused her injuries

Milburn shared a picture, which he claims shows Eskridge's hands burned and discolored after allegedly being struck by an 'energy weapon'

Read More

EXCLUSIVE

•  Several scientists are missing or dead. Now ex-FBI boss reveals chilling plot likely unfolding 

Richard Eskridge, the woman's father and a former NASA scientist who worked on fusion propulsion, has refuted claims that his daughter's death was suspicious.

'Scientists die also, just like other people,' Eskridge told NewsNation while declining to comment further.

In a statement to CNN, Eskridge’s family said she was a 'marvelously intelligent person' who suffered from 'chronic pain.'

Reiterating her father's statement, they added: 'People should realize that scientists die also and not make too much of this.'

Eskridge and her father co-founded The Institute for Exotic Science, which focused on so-called speculative research, including the creation of gravity-defying engines.

The scientist said that she specifically co-founded her research company to create a 'public-facing persona to disclose anti-gravity technology.'

Eskridge said during the podcast: 'If you stick your neck out in public, at least someone notices if your head gets chopped off.

'If you stick your neck out in private... they will bury you, they will burn down your house while you're sleeping in your bed and it won't even make the news. That's why the institute exists,' she warned.

Following Eskridge's death, Milburn launched his own investigation and identified what he described as a troubling timeline that he believes left little time for authorities to fully rule out foul play.

'Why was she cremated so quickly? She phoned me four hours before she died, then she dies, then a few hours later, on the Saturday when she died, she has an autopsy, and then on the Sunday, she's cremated,' Milburn said. 

'After she died, her co-workers and her friends, people she'd worked with, they came forward anonymously and said to me, "yeah, look, we were attacked, we were roofied, my house was broken into, my car tires were slashed,"' he claimed.

Milburn shared what he said was a scorch mark on Eskridge's window

Other images sent by Eskridge revealed strange injuries including discolored and burned hands and bloody skin

Eskridge revealed the alleged attacks also caused burns filled with fluid under her skin

'So this wasn't just random events, this was happening to her and people around her, and she was introducing me to the people that it was happening to.'

Before her death, the scientist claimed she had been the target of disturbing attempts to drug her and push her into taking her own life.

This included alleged break-ins at her apartment, cars following her, strangers approaching her in bars with intimate knowledge of her life, attempts to roofie her drinks and threats of sexual violence against her.

On some occasions, Eskridge alleged that someone managed to roofie her drink before a crowd of strangers gathered around her and began asking about her secret scientific projects while she was disoriented.

'A group of anywhere between two to six people will walk into a location, usually about 30 [minutes] after I sit down,' the scientist purportedly told Milburn in a May 11, 2022, text message.

Lesions also developed after Eskridge claimed she had been struck by a directed energy weapon

Milburn said that Eskridge told him that she had received: 'A s*** load of anonymous messages. Offering advice on how to kill myself. Phrased as these crazy, creepy rhymes'

'Then the whole group will take turns one at a time rotating through the empty seat next to me, repeatedly asking me the same questions over and over again,' she is said to have told Milburn on May 11, 2022. 

'I deflect one, then the next one sits down. They even all use the same opening line between them all, as if they all read the same briefing materials.' 

Eskridge alleged that her apartment had been broken into on at least three occasions, with an unknown intruder leaving clear signs someone had been there, including cutting her phone charger, closing windows and leaving her lingerie on the floor.

In a 2020 podcast interview, Eskridge detailed a plan for the public disclosure of UFOs and extraterrestrials, but feared the threats against her were growing more and more dire.

She said: 'I need to disclose soon, man. I need to publish soon because it's like escalating. It's getting more and more aggressive. This has been going on for like four or five years, and over the past 12 months, it's been escalating, like more aggressive, more invasive digging through my underwear drawer and sexual threats.' 

Franc Milburn is a former British intelligence officer who says he was in contact with Eskridge prior to her death

She also began to receive threatening phone calls from unidentified individuals who allegedly tried to convince her to take her own life, Millburn claimed.

Milburn said that Eskridge then told him that she had received: 'A s*** load of anonymous messages. Offering advice on how to kill myself. Phrased as these crazy, creepy rhymes, like: "Take your pills and overdose and this will go away, take your pills and overdose and it will be OK."'

Millburn said Eskridge even suspected that some of her former boyfriends were actually 'handlers' sent from intelligence agencies or other groups monitoring her work, claiming the men would suddenly disappear and become unreachable after exactly six months.

In her texts, she also appeared to reference the 2010 shooting of three people at the University of Alabama's Huntsville campus, claiming without evidence that convicted shooter Amy Bishop was not responsible for the killings of Drs Gopi Podila, Maria Ragland Davis and Adriel Johnson.

Bishop pleaded guilty to the killings in 2012 and is serving a life sentence. She later claimed medication she was taking at the time of the shooting had altered her brain chemistry, but the appeal was denied.

Eskridge added in a text to Milburn that she believed the 2021 death of Mark McCandlish, an illustrator and ufologist, was also not a suicide, as it has been reported.

'I would give a lot of credence to her. There's gonna be people saying she's delusional, she's this or that, just follow the facts,' Milburn said.

Milburn claimed he put Eskridge in touch with the FBI regarding the growing frequency of incidents and the potential use of a directed energy weapon on US soil, but said the case was later dropped by the agency.

Milburn shared disturbing messages he said he received from Eskridge, claiming she had been targeted by people in public

Milburn shared a picture he said showed Eskridge sitting in her home - near the window which she claimed was scorched by an 'energy weapon'

Milburn's private investigation concluded that the 34-year-old had been 'murdered by a 'private aerospace company' in the US because she was involved in the UAP conversation.'

Milburn also declared: 'I am not suicidal or contemplating suicide and if anything happens to me, like an accident or other suspicious event, then it should be fully investigated as suspicious.'

The former intelligence officer's findings were brought before a congressional hearing in 2023 that was examining Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena, the new term for UFOs.

Journalist Michael Shellenberger presented the findings to the committee in writing, along with other incidents of government retaliation against UAP whistleblowers such as Air Force intelligence officer David Grusch.

Congressman Eric Burlison of Missouri confirmed that Shellenberger has spoken to House members regarding the case and lawmakers are seeking an investigation by the FBI into multiple deaths and disappearances among America's scientific community.

The Daily Mail has reached out to Eskridge's family as well as medical officials in Huntsville for comment on the circumstances surrounding her death. 

A DEADLY pattern: 10 NASA & Los Alamos scientists are dead or vanished, including a UFO General

{ https://www.dailymail.com/sciencetech/index.html }

by CERN

Tens of kilometers above Earth's surface, high-energy particles from outer space constantly strike the atmosphere, creating showers of energetic secondary particles that rain down from the sky. Approximately one of these particles passes through your head every second, but the "cosmic rays" that produce them are still not fully understood. In a recent paper posted to the arXiv preprint server, the ATLAS Collaboration describes how its first measurement of proton–oxygen collisions at the LHC could help us learn more about them.

Cosmic rays were discovered over a century ago by physicist Victor Hess in experiments conducted aboard hot-air balloons. Today, astrophysicists use detectors on the ground to image cosmic-ray showers and computer simulations of the showers to understand that data.

However, these simulations depend on properties of the strong force—one of the fundamental forces of the universe—which is difficult to accurately model. Current simulations disagree with one another, making it difficult for astrophysicists to interpret their measurements of cosmic rays.

To solve this problem, physicists at the ATLAS experiment set out to recreate cosmic-ray collisions in the laboratory – effectively putting them under a microscope. In July 2025, for a few days, they transformed the LHC into a giant cosmic-ray machine. For the first time in its history, the LHC was configured to collide protons with oxygen ions. The beam of protons acted as the cosmic ray, while the beam of oxygen ions played the role of the atmosphere.

ATLAS physicists analysed these collisions by measuring the tracks left in the experiment from electrically charged particles (yellow lines in the event display above). They measured key properties of the collision, including how often the particles were created, how many were created, and the energies and angles at which they flew out.

Figure 1 shows the measured number of charged particles compared to simulations typically used to interpret data from cosmic-ray observatories. These simulations, which are tuned to reproduce previous data from collisions of protons and heavier nuclei, disagree with one another. The new measurements achieve a precision at the level of a few percent, significantly improving the knowledge of proton-oxygen collisions. ATLAS physicists now pass the baton to theorists, who can use this input to refine their models to better match experimental measurements.

These results establish a novel way to use the LHC as a cosmic-ray laboratory, opening the path for detailed experimental studies of proton-oxygen interactions. This can help shed light on the mysterious high-energy particles arriving from the cosmos.

Figure 1: Graph showing how often proton-oxygen collision events are measured for the number of charged particles on the horizontal axis. Black circles show data with the shaded band being its uncertainty. Lines show predictions from various computer simulation models. The lower panel shows how different the models are from data with ATLAS-measurement uncertainties given by the shaded band.

(Image: ATLAS Collaboration/CERN)

In part to help improve these simulations, the LHC was configured to collide protons with oxygen ions for the first time in July 2025. This meant physicists could study "recreated" cosmic-ray collisions in more detail. The beam of protons acted as a cosmic ray, while the beam of oxygen ions played the role of Earth's atmosphere, which is composed primarily of nitrogen and oxygen.

The new paper describes how ATLAS physicists analyzed these collisions by measuring the tracks left in the experiment from electrically charged particles. They measured key properties of the collision, including how often the particles were created, how many were created, and the energies and angles at which they flew out.

They then compared the measured distributions of charged particles with the numbers predicted by various simulations typically used to interpret data from cosmic-ray observatories. These simulations, which are tuned to reproduce data from previous collisions of protons with heavier nuclei, disagree with one another.

The new ATLAS measurements achieve a precision level of a few percent, significantly improving knowledge of proton–oxygen collisions. Theorists can now use this input to refine their models and help shed more light on the mysterious high-energy particles arriving from our cosmos.

{ https://phys.org/physics-news/physics/ }

Curiosity's Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) is a suite of instruments built to search for compounds of the element carbon that are associated with life.  (Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Malin Space Science Systems)

NASA's Curiosity Mars rover has found a diverse mix of organic molecules on Mars, including chemicals widely considered building blocks for the origin of life on Earth. The finding marks the first time a new kind of chemical experiment has been performed on another planet.

Curiosity rover has been dutifully probing Mars' Gale crater and Mount Sharp since the robot plopped down on the Red Planet on Aug. 6, 2012. The car-sized Mars rover is now wheeling about in the Glen Torridon region of Gale crater, a place that scientists believe could have supported conditions that were favorable to supporting ancient life, if it was ever there in the first place. While in the region, Curiosity recently utilized its onboard Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) instrument suite, built to search for compounds of the element carbon that are associated with life and investigate ways in which these compounds are generated and destroyed in the Martian ecosphere.

Curiosity's SAM instrument was able to use a chemical known as tetramethylammonium hydroxide (TMAH) to detect organic molecules in the region's clay-rich sandstone. The newly identified chemicals include nitrogen and sulfur-bearing molecules that are similar to the raw material that helped spur life on Earth. However, the experiment can't tell if the chemicals come from ancient Martian life or non-biological geological processes.

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The study of Curiosity's first SAM TMAH experiment was led by Amy Williams, an associate professor in the Department of Geological Sciences at the University of Florida in Gainesville. The research has been published in the journal Nature Communications.

"This experiment and its results have been a labor of love and science," Williams told Space.com. "This was the first time that TMAH had been used on another world and our team worked extensively to interpret and confirm the molecules detected in this first-of-its-kind experiment."

Clay-bearing sandstones

Curiosity's experiment detected more than 20 organic molecules from clay-bearing sandstones in the roughly 3.5-billion-year-old Knockfarrill Hill section of Glen Torridon. The variety of organic molecules observed suggests that some chemical diversity has been preserved in ancient Martian sediments despite billions of years of diagenesis (the process by which sediment turns to rock) and radiation exposure.

"We propose that this suite of organics represents TMAH thermochemolysis breakdown products from ancient organic macromolecular material that has been preserved in billions-of-years-old sedimentary rocks in Gale crater," explains the research paper.

Williams said the rover's discoveries were confirmed with other instruments aboard. "We iterated on molecule identifications using some of the SAM flight spare equipment to confirm our findings," Williams said. "I think the time was well spent, as we now have evidence that the suite of molecules broken apart by the TMAH reagent derived from more complex macromolecular carbon that is preserved in the martian subsurface."

Mars machinery has detected more than 20 organic molecules from clay-bearing sandstones in Glen Torridon, Gale crater, work done by the Sample Analysis at Mars instrument suite onboard the Curiosity rover. Three drill samples were taken and diverse organic molecules were found on Mars.  (Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Malin Space Science Systems))

Native martian organics

The newly-issued paper explains that the ongoing characterization of organic matter on Mars "is a pillar of modern robotic exploration, as space agencies send rovers and landers to explore Mars' past and present habitability and to search for signs of life."

Furthermore, within a decade of time, researchers have advanced from the search for organic molecules on Mars to identifying native Martian organics.

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"We are now poised to address the source of these organics, whether exogenous (e.g., meteoritic, cometary, or interplanetary dust particles) or endogenous (e.g., abiotically or biologically produced)," Williams and colleagues report in the study.

As noted in the new research paper, the confirmation of macromolecular organic matter "supports the possibility that future optimized TMAH thermochemolysis experiments can liberate ancient biosignatures preserved in macromolecules on Mars (if present)."

The results of the SAM TMAH experiment "expand the library of confirmed and suggested organic molecules preserved over deep geologic time in the Martian near-surface and confirm the presence of macromolecular carbon on Mars," the paper concludes.

Different locations on Mars

The scientists say that Curiosity's discoveries could tie into observations from NASA's other on-duty Mars rover. "Our findings are aligned with some observations of organic matter with the Perseverance rover," Williams said.

The TMAH experiment on Curiosity was used to identify cyclic (or aromatic) organic compounds that derived from more complex macromolecular carbon, Williams said. Meanwhile, the Perseverance rover has used a different instrument to find evidence for both cyclic organic compounds and macromolecular carbon.

"We now have evidence for diverse and potentially complex organic matter, preserved in different locations on Mars and detected with different instrument suites. This suggests that organic carbon is better preserved over long time periods on Mars than we expected, given the harsh radiation environment," Williams said.

The Mast Camera (Mastcam) on NASA's Curiosity Mars rover captured this mosaic as it explored the "clay-bearing unit" back in 2019.  (Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Malin Space Science Systems)

Future life detection instruments

These new results could be useful for future life detection instruments done robotically or by astronauts, Williams said, calling the TMAH experiment a "trailblazer for upcoming planetary missions."

Versions of the TMAH experiment are flying with the Mars Organic Molecule Analyzer (MOMA) on the European Space Agency's Rosalind Franklin rover destined for Mars' Oxia Planum plain, and on the Dragonfly Mass Spectrometer (DraMS) instrument being installed on the Dragonfly rotorcraft destined for Saturn's moon Titan.

Williams said that the new results can help inform the experimental design for these future missions.

"The TMAH experiment revealed that macromolecular carbon is preserved over long time periods in some of the rocks on Mars. This is powerful information for future life detection missions and instruments, as we now know that larger molecules that could have been made by life can be preserved in the Martian near surface," Williams added.

Next generation instruments, Williams concluded, "can focus on techniques to more fully extract these organics and glean new information about their identity and potentially their origin, be it geologic, meteoritic, or biologic."

 Leonard David

Space Insider Columnist

Leonard David is an award-winning space journalist who has been reporting on space activities for more than 50 years. Currently writing as Space.com's Space Insider Columnist among his other projects, Leonard has authored numerous books on space exploration, Mars missions and more, with his latest being "Moon Rush: The New Space Race" published in 2019 by National Geographic. He also wrote "Mars: Our Future on the Red Planet" released in 2016 by National Geographic. Leonard  has served as a correspondent for SpaceNews, Scientific American and Aerospace America for the AIAA. He has received many awards, including the first Ordway Award for Sustained Excellence in Spaceflight History in 2015 at the AAS Wernher von Braun Memorial Symposium. You can find out Leonard's latest project at his website and on Twitter.

 { https://www.space.com/space-exploration }