The curse of King Tutankhamun’s tomb: As archaeologists plan to drill inside to look for Queen Nefertiti - the unsettling stories of people allegedly doomed after its opening
The discovery of Tutankhamun's tomb in 1922 captivated the world – but it also gave rise to one of archaeology's most enduring legends.
A string of illnesses, accidents and untimely deaths among people linked to the excavation fuelled claims that the young pharaoh's resting place was protected by a deadly curse.
Now, as archaeologists consider drilling into suspected hidden chambers that could contain the long-lost tomb of Nefertiti, the eerie stories surrounding the so-called 'curse of the pharaoh' have resurfaced.
The first person fell 'victim' to the curse just five months after the opening of Tutankhamun's tomb.
Lord Carnarvon, chief financial backer for the project, died on April 5, 1923, from blood poisoning and pneumonia after a mosquito bite on his face became infected.
However, some have claimed inhaling spores from the pharaoh's crypt contributed to his death.
The rumours were fuelled by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the author of the Sherlock Holmes series, who, in a piece published in the Glasgow Herald, said: 'An evil elemental may have caused Lord Carnarvon's fatal illness.
'One does not know what elementals existed in those days, nor what their form might be. The Egyptians knew a great deal more about those things than we do.'
A string of illnesses, accidents and untimely deaths among people linked to the excavation fuelled claims that the young pharaoh's resting place was protected by a deadly curse. Pictured: Howard Carter examining Tutankhamun's sarcophagus
New scans have revealed tantalising evidence of a previously unknown network of corridors and chambers (pictured in purple and yellow) just metres from the young pharaoh's burial chamber (in grey). KV 9 refers to the nearby tomb of the pharaohs Ramesses V and Ramesses VI
Another 'cursed' individual who visited King Tut's tomb was George Jay Gould, a wealthy American financier.
He visited the crypt in 1923 as Lord Carnarvon's guest but fell sick almost immediately afterwards. He never recovered and died of pneumonia a few months later.
Arthur Mace, meanwhile, was an archaeologist who helped clear and catalogue the tomb's treasures.
He suffered declining health after working in the tomb and died aged 53 from complications linked to pneumonia.
One of the most mysterious deaths was that of Hugh Evelyn-White, the archaeologist who entered the burial chamber and who took his own life in 1924.
According to reports, he left a note saying: 'I have succumbed to a curse.'
Bizarrely, some of the curse 'victims' never even stepped foot in the tomb.
Lord Carnarvon's half-brother Aubrey Herbert also died in 1923 – shortly after the tomb was opened – after developing blood poisoning following dental surgery.
This added to speculation surrounding the family, with some suggesting he suffered from the curse merely by being related to Lord Carnarvon.
It is believed that inhaling spores from Tutankhamun's tomb may have contributed to the death of Lord Carnarvon, the chief financial backer for the project. Pictured: Experts in the burial chamber during the excavation of the mummy
Members of the team that discovered the tomb of the Pharaoh Tutankhamun in 1922. From left, Arthur Mace (died 1928), Richard Bethell (died 1929), Arthur Callender (died 1937), Lady Evelyn Herbert (died 1980), Howard Carter (died 1939), Lord Carnarvon, (died 1923), Alfred Lucas (died 1945) and official photographer Harry Burton (died 1940)
Another person who allegedly fell foul of the mummy's curse was Aaron Ember, who died in 1926.
Although not directly involved in the excavation, the Egyptologist was friends with members of the team. He died in a house fire while attempting to save a manuscript on ancient Egyptian beliefs.
While Howard Carter – the man who was credited with discovering the tomb – appeared unaffected by any mysterious wrongdoing, the same can't be said for his friends.
Publishing entrepreneur Sir Bruce Ingram reportedly received a mummified hand as a gift from Mr Carter, which he used as a paperweight.
Soon after, his house allegedly burned down and was subsequently damaged by flooding during rebuilding.
Another figure frequently cited in curse stories is radiologist Sir Archibald Douglas Reid.
Popular lore and sensationalised news reports from the 1920s claimed that Sir Archibald X-rayed King Tut's remains just before the mummy was handed over to museum authorities.
Storytellers claim he fell ill the next day and died three days later in Switzerland following abdominal surgery.
Lord Carnarvon (left) died months after the opening of Tutankhamun's tomb. Howard Carter (right)is the man who first discovered the crypt
Renowned Egyptologist James Henry Breasted was also part of Howard Carter's team during the exploration of Tutankhamun's tomb.
According to legend, shortly after the discovery he returned home to find his pet canary had been killed by a cobra that was still sitting inside the bird's cage.
As the cobra was a powerful symbol of ancient Egyptian royalty and appeared on pharaohs' headdresses as a sign of protection, the incident was widely interpreted as an ominous warning.
However, perhaps the strongest argument against the curse is the fate of Howard Carter himself.
The archaeologist who discovered the tomb, oversaw its excavation and spent more time inside it than anyone else lived for another 17 years, dying from cancer in 1939 at the age of 64.
Far from meeting a mysterious end, Mr Carter's relatively long life has led many historians to dismiss the so-called curse of the pharaoh as little more than a myth fuelled by coincidence.
The face of Tutankhamun was an Egyptian pharaoh of the 18th dynasty, and ruled between 1332 BC and 1323 BC. Right, his famous gold funeral mask
Tutankhamun was an Egyptian pharaoh of the 18th dynasty, and ruled between 1332 BC and 1323 BC.
He was the son of Akhenaten and took to the throne at the age of nine or ten.
When he became king, he married his half-sister, Ankhesenpaaten.
He died at around the age of 18 and his cause of death is unknown.
In 1907, Lord Carnarvon George Herbert asked English archaeologist and Egyptologist Howard Carter to supervise excavations in the Valley of the Kings.
On 4 November 1922, Carter's group found steps that led to Tutankhamun's tomb.
He spent several months cataloguing the antechamber before opening the burial chamber and discovering the sarcophagus in February 1923.
When the tomb was discovered in 1922 by archaeologist Howard Carter, under the patronage of Lord Carnarvon, the media frenzy that followed was unprecedented.
Carter and his team took 10 years to clear the tomb of its treasure because of the multitude of objects found within it.
For many, Tut embodies ancient Egypt's glory because his tomb was packed with the glittering wealth of the rich 18th Dynasty from 1569 to 1315 BC.
Egypt's antiquities chief Zahi Hawass (3rd L) supervises the removal of the lid of the sarcophagus of King Tutankhamun in his underground tomb in the famed Valley of the Kings in 2007.
Has Queen Nefertiti finally been found? New scans provide fresh evidence for a hidden chamber beyond Tutankhamun's tomb that could hold the remains of his long-lost stepmother
It is the most famous tomb in the world, extensively studied by Egyptologists since it was discovered by Howard Carter more than a century ago and visited by hundreds of thousands every year.
But archaeologists believe they may have uncovered a new secret hiding behind the walls of Tutankhamun’s tomb.
For scans have revealed tantalising evidence of a previously unknown network of corridors and chambers just metres from the young pharaoh’s burial chamber.
If the researchers are right, they could contain one of ancient Egypt’s greatest missing treasures – the long-lost burial place of his stepmother, Queen Nefertiti.
The study, first reported in Nature, involved a range of geophysical surveys and clues from ground-penetrating radar.
Analysis of the tomb structure, the ground around it and wall paintings indicate there is a 'hidden complex' of corridors and rooms.
They appear to pre-date the entombment of Tutankhamun, the experts said – suggesting they could hold the remains of his stepmother. If confirmed, the discovery could 'rank among the most transformative archaeological discoveries of the modern era'.
Any excavation or drilling would require approval from Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities. If approved, careful drilling to deploy tiny tractors equipped with cameras could start in the next two months.
New scans have revealed tantalising evidence of a previously unknown network of corridors and chambers (pictured in purple and yellow) just metres from the young pharaoh's burial chamber (in grey). KV 9 refers to the nearby tomb of the pharaohs Ramesses V and Ramesses VI
A room inside the tomb of King Tutankhamun, who died at the age of 18 or 19, in the Valley of the Kings in Luxor, Egypt. Analysis of the tomb structure, the ground around it and wall paintings indicate there is a 'hidden complex' of corridors and rooms
The idea that there could be a hidden chamber within the tomb containing Tutankhamun's predecessor, Nefertiti, was first proposed in 2015 by British Egyptologist Nicholas Reeves
He said lines and cracks in the north wall of the burial chamber, as well as alterations to the room's paintings, made him believe the structure was a false wall.
The tomb itself is unexpectedly small for a royal burial, leading some to think it is part of a larger network of chambers.
Mr Reeves proposed that when Tutankhamun died unexpectedly, as a teenager, a much larger royal tomb was adapted for his burial, with the deeper sections blocked off.
For the new study, archaeologists at Egypt's National Research Institute of Astronomy and Geophysics used powerful ground-penetrating radar to probe the interior walls of the tomb.
Their analysis indicates a 6.5 foot (two metre) wide corridor leading away from the burial chamber.
George Ballard, co-author of the study, said previous teams may have missed it because they were searching for a large void immediately behind the wall.
Further investigations involving a microgravity survey – a technique that can measure density through tiny variations in the Earth's gravitational field – pointed to a series of hidden chambers tucked into the rock behind.
Further investigations involving a microgravity survey – a technique that can measure density through tiny variations in the Earth's magnetic field – pointed to a series of hidden chambers tucked into the rock behind (depicted with dashed yellow lines)
The proposed opening to the corridor, in what experts believe could be a 'false wall' in the side of Tutankhamun's tomb
The study, published in Occasional Papers of the Amarna Royal Tombs Project, compares the layout of Tutankhamun's tomb to others, including that of Hatshepsut – one of ancient Egypt's most powerful female pharaohs.
The team point out that the exit in Tutankhamun's tomb is left-turning – identical to the layout of Hatshepsut's resting place.
However, tombs for kings during this period all have right-turning exits.
'The implication of this leftwards turn is clear,' the team wrote. 'KV 62 [Tutankhamun's tomb] conforms to the architectural grammar of neither a private nor a kingly monument.
'The plan Tutankhamun's tomb follows is that of an Eighteenth Dynasty Queen.'
The researchers add that Tutankhamun's burial chamber may have initially served as an intermediary space separating the tomb's visible outer apartments from an original burial suite further back.
This adds to the theory that the tomb was originally for Queen Nefertiti, before being adapted for the early death of her stepson.
The walls of Tutankhamun's burial chamber may contain another clue. Experts believe some of the paintings were originally created for an earlier royal – and that images of Nefertiti may have been altered to portray her stepson after his unexpected death.
Experts believe some of the paintings were originally created for an earlier royal – and that images of Nefertiti may have been altered to portray her son after his unexpected death
View of the proposed funerary complex, showing how it cuts deep into the rock in the Valley of the Kings
'Close analysis confirms that the space employed as a burial chamber for Tutankhamun had not been conceived as such,' the researchers wrote.
'It had originally played a very different, median role within a larger, ultimately regal tomb.
'The identification of the owner and original occupant of this larger tomb is dependent on satisfying a tightly constrained set of conditions: to have been female, as tomb type indicates… to have enjoyed full pharaonic status, and to have been Tutankhamun's immediate predecessor.
'With none but Nefertiti… meeting these criteria, it comes as no surprise to find the north wall's ownership imagery replicating the precise profile of this very lady.'
The team suggest that Tutankhamun's death – barely a decade after his stepmother passed away – prompted the reopening of Nefertiti's tomb and for the outermost rooms to be repurposed as his burial chamber.
'[This room] was now redesigned as a burial chamber for Tutankhamun, with satellite side-rooms newly quarried,' the team wrote.
'[The] single, north wall scene was then revised to suit its new ownership and role.
'By the time these changes had been fully implemented, KV 62 presented the appearance of ownership by Tutankhamun alone – which, for more than a century, is how it has been completely misunderstood.'
One chamber in particular appears to be closed off, with no link to other entrances.
The researchers said there's a chance it could be filled with objects – which may not have been touched since they were first put there more than 3,000 years ago.
The face of Tutankhamun was an Egyptian pharaoh of the 18th dynasty, and ruled between 1332 BC and 1323 BC. Right, his famous gold funeral mask
Tutankhamun was an Egyptian pharaoh of the 18th dynasty, and ruled between 1332 BC and 1323 BC.
He was the son of Akhenaten and took to the throne at the age of nine or ten.
When he became king, he married his half-sister, Ankhesenpaaten.
He died at around the age of 18 and his cause of death is unknown.
In 1907, Lord Carnarvon George Herbert asked English archaeologist and Egyptologist Howard Carter to supervise excavations in the Valley of the Kings.
On 4 November 1922, Carter's group found steps that led to Tutankhamun's tomb.
He spent several months cataloguing the antechamber before opening the burial chamber and discovering the sarcophagus in February 1923.
When the tomb was discovered in 1922 by archaeologist Howard Carter, under the patronage of Lord Carnarvon, the media frenzy that followed was unprecedented.
Carter and his team took 10 years to clear the tomb of its treasure because of the multitude of objects found within it.
For many, Tut embodies ancient Egypt's glory because his tomb was packed with the glittering wealth of the rich 18th Dynasty from 1569 to 1315 BC.
Egypt's antiquities chief Zahi Hawass (3rd L) supervises the removal of the lid of the sarcophagus of King Tutankhamun in his underground tomb in the famed Valley of the Kings in 2007.
EXCLUSIVE - Noah's Ark resting place '100% confirmed' after 4,300 years as astonishing 'man-made' structure is detected buried deep underground
High in the mountains of Turkey sits a mysterious boat-shaped formation that some researchers believe could be the remains of Noah's Ark.
According to the Bible, the massive vessel saved humanity and every kind of animal from annihilation during a catastrophic flood that some biblical chronologies place more than 4,300 years ago.
Now, an international team examining the Durupınar Formation near Mount Ararat claims it has '100 percent confirmed' that the mound is not a natural geological feature but a 'man-made object.'
Recent radar surveys reportedly revealed structural layers, straight lines, right-angle intersections and large cavity-like spaces at multiple depths.
Most strikingly, researchers claim scans show potential chambers, corridors and tunnels along with a thick underground layer dividing into three parts – a feature they compared to God's command in Genesis for Noah to build the Ark with three decks.
Physical core drilling also found a layer rich in organic material, which researchers are testing to determine whether it contains decayed wood.
Independent researcher Andrew Jones, the founder of Noah's Ark Scans who has investigated the area for nearly 30 years, told the Daily Mail neither the radar surveys nor drilling conducted inside the formation detected limestone or solid bedrock.
'This destroys the theory the site is a solid limestone block shaped into a boat by glaciers and weathering after coming down the mountainside, and it also refutes the theory that this is bedrock around which mud flowed to form the shape,' he said.
A group of researchers think a formation in Turkish mountains could be remains of Noah's Ark
The team recently drilled into the formation, collecting samples that may contain vital evidence
Jones acknowledged the evidence has not definitively identified the formation as the biblical vessel.
But he added: 'I firmly believe the Durupınar Formation represents the buried remains of Noah's Ark.'
He described the latest scans as a 'compelling new line of evidence' suggesting the site contains non-natural structures, but said they are not definitive proof.
The first major radar survey in 2019 detected linear and angular anomalies the team interpreted as possible walls, passageways and separate compartments.
A deeper investigation conducted in 2026 by Dr Khosrow Bakhtar used an advanced radar system developed through US Air Force research, capable of probing significantly deeper than earlier equipment.
The system detected massive layered reflectors, underground boundaries that bounce radar signals back toward the surface, as well as what the team interpreted as sediment-filled cavities.
Five prominent anomalies appeared to form a possible tunnel system extending across roughly 151 feet, with an average structural height of over 14 feet.
An international team are '100 percent confident' that the formation is a 'man-made object
Two other major anomalies measured approximately 26 feet and 39 feet high, while another distinct underground feature stood about 23 feet high.
At several locations, the radar detected a layer measuring between 16 and 20 feet thick, approximately 16 feet beneath the surface.
That layer appeared to contain three separate sublayers.
But the readings are not photographs of exposed rooms or passageways. They instead show how radar waves reacted to different materials and boundaries beneath the ground.
Those anomalies must be physically investigated before researchers can determine what produced them.
The team is using the measurements as a road map to select the most promising locations for further drilling.
The site was formally identified in 1959 by a shepherd and has sparked intrigue ever since
The samples (pictured) will be tested for signs of decaying wood, which may prove the theory
Lauren Witzke, director of marketing and fundraising for Noah's Ark Scans, claimed the formation's uppermost section is deteriorating.
'The top, and most exposed, tier is decaying, and the hardened mudflow encasing the rims of the boat are basically the only thing holding it together,' she said.
'It's very fragile, as to be expected with 4,300-year-old wood. But beneath the surface, the bottom two layers appear to still be intact, and we believe we have hit a floor of petrified wood.'
However, researchers have not confirmed the material is wood, nor have they scientifically dated anything recovered from drilling to 4,300 years ago.
Jones stressed the figure represents a proposed biblical time frame for the flood rather than an established scientific age.
The team must isolate suitable organic material from its core samples and submit it for radiocarbon dating before it can determine whether the site fits that timeline.
Researchers have also discovered pottery outside the formation dating from the Chalcolithic, or Copper Age, through the Iron Age.
The team said the pottery helps establish people occupied or visited the mountainside across a long period of ancient history and identifies areas that may warrant further archaeological investigation.
The radar captured 'a series of right angles' about 20 feet down, which researchers believe could be rooms that held animals on the ark
Further studies using infrared thermography (IRT) may show a ship-shaped hull under the soil
'It's quite possible this pottery was used to store food and supplies on the Ark, and was used as Noah's family exited the Ark and set up camp (the Bible says Noah was living in a tent),' Witzke shared in a statement.
However, Jones acknowledged pottery alone cannot establish that the formation is the Ark or demonstrate that the people who left the artifacts were connected to it.
The Durupınar Formation lies about 18 miles south of Mount Ararat, Turkey's highest peak.
Local accounts claim heavy rain and earthquakes exposed its unusual outline in 1948, when it was reportedly noticed by a Kurdish shepherd.
The site was formally identified in 1959 after Turkish Army Captain İlhan Durupınar spotted its ship-like outline in aerial survey photographs.
The team found pottery which they say predates what biblical scholars call the Great Flood
The Durupınar Formation lies about 18 miles south of Mount Ararat, Turkey's highest peak
Much of the fascination surrounding the mound stems from its elongated shape and dimensions, which researchers say closely resemble the biblical description of the Ark.
Scripture describes the vessel as roughly 515 feet long, 86 feet wide and 52 feet tall. Yet the formation has divided investigators for decades.
Early researchers who surveyed and excavated the site reported finding only soil and rocks, concluding it was a naturally formed geological feature rather than remains of a vessel.
Most geologists continue to favor a natural explanation, while Ark researchers argue the new radar readings, core samples and nearby pottery justify another investigation.
'What excites me most about this phase is that we are transitioning from remote imaging to collecting physical samples deep within the site, allowing us to scientifically evaluate hypotheses that have been debated for decades,' Jones said.
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Scientists detect radio signals coming directly from an exoplanet for the first time
Radio signals coming directly from an exoplanet have been detected for the very first time.
Astronomers used the massive MeerKAT radio telescope array in South Africa to spot short, repeating bursts of radio waves.
Using bright galaxy cores called quasars as reference points, the scientists were able to pin down this signal's origin to a single planet 63.4 light-years from Earth.
However, the researchers say this isn't an alien civilisation trying to send us a message.
Instead, the signal is coming from the exoplanet's auroras, created by charged particles from its parent star interacting with the magnetic field.
On Earth, these same effects create the dazzling Northern Lights, but no one has been able to pick up the signal of an alien aurora outside the solar system before now.
In their pre-print paper, the researchers write: 'Although auroral radio bursts are observed in Solar System planets and in some ultracool dwarfs, no radio detection has previously been unambiguously localized to an extrasolar planet rather than its host star.'
Radio signals coming directly from an exoplanet, a planet outside the solar system, have been detected for the very first time (illustrated)
Astronomers used the massive MeerKAT radio telescope array in South Africa to spot short, repeating bursts of radio waves (illustrated)
On four separate occasions in 2025 and 2026, scientists focused their radio telescopes on the distant star Beta Pictoris.
Previous studies have found that this star is home to four orbiting exoplanets, named Beta Pictoris a, Beta Pictoris b, Beta Pictoris c and Beta Pictoris d.
Although scientists have detected powerful radio bursts from the solar system, it has previously been immensely difficult to filter out any planetary signals from the noise of a nearby star.
However, the particular type of star and radio signal the astronomers found made this fine separation possible for the first time.
The radio signal was highly circularly polarised, which is a classic signature of a signal emitted by a planet's aurora.
Beta Pictoris is also an 'early–type star', meaning it is larger, hotter, and structured differently from stars like our sun.
However, these types of stars are incapable of producing the kinds of radio signals the researchers were seeing.
The authors wrote: 'No physical mechanism known to cause radio emission in early–type stars can explain the observed emission.'
That means the radio signal must be coming from one of the orbiting exoplanets, rather than the star itself.
The signals were traced back to Beta Pictoris b, a massive gas giant orbiting a star 63.4 light–years from Earth
Beta Pictoris is home to four exoplanets, including Beta Pictoris b, which became the faintest exoplanet ever to be directly imaged last year (pictured)
Using the bright reference points of quasars, the scientists finally found that the signal was being emitted by Beta Pictoris b, the second planet out from the star.
Previous studies have shown that Beta Pictoris b is a young, massive gas giant, about 10 times the mass of Jupiter.
What makes this discovery so exciting is that it opens up a new avenue for understanding the makeup of exoplanets.
Beta Pictoris b's aurora is produced by an effect called Electron Cyclotron Maser Instability, which is the same process that creates the stunning auroras on planets like Jupiter and Mars.
Since scientists have a good understanding of how this effect works, they can use the radio signals it produces to make predictions about the planet itself.
Using their new measurements, the researchers were able to show that Beta Pictoris b has an incredibly strong magnetic field, thousands of times more powerful than Earth's.
These signals are further boosted by the planet's rapid rotation, with the researchers estimating that days on Beta Pictoris b only last eight to nine hours.
While it might be disappointing that these signals don't come from an alien race, insights like these could be key to finding life beyond our solar system one day.
A planet's magnetic field insulates the surface from harmful radiation that would destroy early life and helps hold the atmosphere together against the ravages of solar wind.
If astronomers can isolate aurora signals from exoplanets, they can also figure out which planets are most likely to have conditions favourable for life.
The researchers already have plans to use their new techniques on seven other exoplanets located in five solar systems.
These planets could soon be analysed in the same way as Beta Pictoris b, with planned next-generation radio observatories making even more sensitive observations possible.
Distant stars and their orbiting planets often have conditions unlike anything we see in our atmosphere.
To understand these new world's, and what they are made of, scientists need to be able to detect what their atmospheres consist of.
They often do this by using a telescope similar to Nasa's Hubble Telescope.
These enormous satellites scan the sky and lock on to exoplanets that Nasa think may be of interest.
Here, the sensors on board perform different forms of analysis.
One of the most important and useful is called absorption spectroscopy.
This form of analysis measures the light that is coming out of a planet's atmosphere.
Every gas absorbs a slightly different wavelength of light, and when this happens a black line appears on a complete spectrum.
These lines correspond to a very specific molecule, which indicates it's presence on the planet.
They are often called Fraunhofer lines after the German astronomer and physicist that first discovered them in 1814.
By combining all the different wavelengths of lights, scientists can determine all the chemicals that make up the atmosphere of a planet.
The key is that what is missing, provides the clues to find out what is present.
It is vitally important that this is done by space telescopes, as the atmosphere of Earth would then interfere.
Absorption from chemicals in our atmosphere would skew the sample, which is why it is important to study the light before it has had chance to reach Earth.
This is often used to look for helium, sodium and even oxygen in alien atmospheres.
This diagram shows how light passing from a star and through the atmosphere of an exoplanet produces Fraunhofer lines indicating the presence of key compounds such as sodium or helium
Man takes on ‘Terminator’ robot in historic fight – and it’s as brutal as you’d expect
Sarah Hooper | Live News Reporter
American influencer Frankie LaPenna decided to go against a humanoid android robot during an MMA fight.
Believed to be a world first, LaPenna entered the ring against a Rek Robotics ‘Rekbot’, which has been compared to a T-800 from ‘The Terminator’.
Rek Robotics wrote on X: ‘We just made history with the first Human VS Terminator robot fight. Frankie LaPenna gave it his all.’
Footage from the clip showed the large robot pumping its ‘fists’, with glaring red eyes and a skull-like head attachment.
The android even ‘stretched’ before beginning to throw punches.
LaPenna put up a good fight, getting a few rounds in before the robot’s roundhouse kicked him to the ground.
Footage of the fight has already been compared to scenes from ‘The Terminator’.
One person wrote: ‘Humans are cooked.’
It was later revealed that the robot was being controlled by a human, but the fight has many people questioning what could become a reality in years to come – humans versus robots.
Recent footage of Chinese humanoid robots sparked fears that humanoids could be the future of global military conflicts.
Metro previously spoke to leading war experts about the role humanoid robots could play in future battlefields or whether they’ll remain a dystopian fantasy.
Dr James Pritchett, a War Studies Lecturer at Hull University, told Metro: ‘In the West, we have become very casualty-averse. We don’t like to take risks.
‘Robots are a great alternative to that. You can send a machine to do a person’s job.’
But China accounted for around 90% of all humanoid robots sold last year and is home to more than 451,000 companies involved in intelligent robotics.
Two of the leading humanoid companies sold a combined 10,000 robots last year, whereas Elon Musk’s Tesla has built just 150 humanoids.
The UK’s Ministry of Defence (MoD) has also been developing its own robotic systems.
Early last year, they conducted a trial using robot dogs to defuse explosives.
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White House Slammed Over 'Distraction' UFO File Release as Critics Call It 'Anything To Distract'
The Pentagon releases a sixth PURSUE tranche as critics question its timing and officials stress the process is ongoing
PHOTO AI-generated by Google Gemini
The US Department of War released its sixth batch of declassified and historical unidentified anomalous phenomena records on Friday, 18 September, prompting fresh debate online over whether the disclosure was meaningful or politically timed. Some social-media users characterised the release as a distraction from other issues facing President Donald Trump's administration, but the criticism does not establish that distraction was the purpose of the release.
The files were published under the Presidential Unsealing and Reporting System for UAP Encounters, or PURSUE, the government programme created after Trump directed federal agencies on 19 February to identify and release records related to UAPs, UFOs and possible extraterrestrial life. The Department has said the material is being reviewed and released in stages as records are located, assessed and declassified.
The Pentagon
© AFP via Getty Images
Officials within the White House are being slammed for releasing a lackluster report on UFOs that many claim is a distraction from the administration's failings.
The newest batch of documents was released by the Department of Defense on Friday and contained 10 different statements and photos of what the department claimed to be UFOs. However, many of the photos taken at night show only the merest pinprick of light, which could be either a star or even a plane.
Assistant to the Secretary of War for Public Affairs and Chief Pentagon Spokesman Sean Parnell said the sixth release contained declassified and historical UAP files and that additional material would be published on a rolling basis. He added that the Department and its agency partners were already working on the next release.
PURSUE describes the records in its archive as unresolved, meaning the government has not been able to make a definitive determination about the phenomena shown or reported. The Department also says a case may remain unresolved simply because available information is insufficient, so the designation should not be read as confirmation of an extraordinary or extraterrestrial explanation.
Among the material in Release 06 is the 1952 Tremonton film, a long-running Project Blue Book case involving footage shot near Tremonton, Utah, by US Navy Chief Warrant Officer Delbert C. Newhouse. The release also includes historical records connected to the investigation of that film.
The tranche further includes records linked to reports from local law enforcement in Colorado in October 2023. One accompanying transcript says the officer recorded a reported UAP while narrating what was visible. Identifying details were removed to protect the source and law-enforcement activity, limiting what can be independently determined from the public version.
Other files include infrared footage gathered by US military platforms in locations including the Middle East and the Yellow Sea. The official descriptions are deliberately limited and warn that summaries of what appears in the footage should not be treated as analytical judgments or conclusions about what the objects were.
Release 06 also adds records associated with the Advanced Aerospace Weapon System Applications Program, or AAWSAP, including contracting material and technical research documents. Public records from the release show that the programme involved a contract valued at about $21.9 million (£16.3 million) with Bigelow Aerospace Advanced Space Studies. That figure should not be described simply as money spent investigating Skinwalker Ranch because the programme covered a broader range of aerospace research.
The latest disclosure quickly became the subject of political commentary on social media. Some users described the UAP release as an attempt to divert attention from subjects including the economy, foreign policy and other controversies involving the administration. Similar distraction claims have accompanied earlier PURSUE releases.
Those reactions, however, amount to political opinion rather than evidence about why the sixth tranche appeared on 18 September. The Department's published explanation is that PURSUE is a continuing records-review project involving multiple agencies and that new material will be released as files are found and cleared for publication.
"Let's show the first clip. It was taken by a Navy aerial photographer. His name was Delbert Newhouse. It was taken along a Utah highway, he added. "If you look closely, it looks like a drone swarm, but there were no known drones in the sky when this video was taken in 1952."
"I am told they took the first and only copy of this film. They found it in the National Archives," added the Fox News host. "It has been digitized into 4K to be released right here for the first time today."
The release follows earlier PURSUE tranches published on 8 May, 22 May, 12 June, 10 July and 7 August. The sixth tranche therefore forms part of an established disclosure process rather than a one-off release announced only in response to the latest political debate.
UFO documents
© Department of War
Doocy then played another clip, which he said was taken by a Colorado law enforcement officer in 2023. "The officer's narration and some nearby buildings have been redacted," Doocy added.
The news reporter said he had heard the complete, unredacted version, in which the officer described seeing multiple orbs "hovering over a sensitive military installation for 15 minutes at a time." Doocy added, "We have a third clip taken by a drone over the Middle East last year. It showed six objects flying in formation, destination unknown."
"Depending on how they look at this, they say they do not know what they're looking at on the screen," he added. "And then there's this, there's a newly declassified copy of an expense report, a line-by-line expense report."
Doocy said that the report was the $22 million that the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) used to investigate a claim of something called Skinwalker Ranch, which even had alleged UFO sightings.
"Senior White House officials are telling me they cannot find any copy of the records. They've got all the proof that this government contractor was spending $22 million to do this investigation," added Doocy. "But we should stress, again, officials do not know what the objects are in these videos that are going to go wide online after this report at war.gov slash UFO."
Many on X were quick to call out the drop as a distraction from the Trump administration's antics. "The white house. Literally anything to distract from all the garbage they're doing," one X user said.
"No one cares, people are concerned about the economy and why Trump forced America into a war on behalf of Israel," another person added. A third person joked that the administration needed to "step it up" and that the file drop was "lame."
The government has also maintained a cautious description of the evidence. PURSUE does not state that unresolved records demonstrate extraterrestrial technology, alien life or any single explanation for the reported sightings. Instead, it presents them as cases in which officials have not reached a definitive determination on the available information.
Parnell said further UAP files would continue to be published on a rolling basis. For now, the sixth release expands the public archive with material spanning decades, while claims that its timing was intended as a political distraction remain unsubstantiated.
Pentagon Releases New UFO Files Showcasing Alleged 'Flying Saucers' and Secret Defence Tech Research
The Pentagon’s latest UFO files include 1952 footage from Utah and defence research into warp drives, wormholes and cloaking technology
PHOTO Pixabay
The US Department of War released a new tranche of UFO and unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP) records on Friday, 18 September, including film of bright, disc‑shaped objects recorded near Tremonton, Utah, in 1952 and documents relating to a US defence programme that examined speculative concepts such as warp drives, wormholes and cloaking.
The sixth tranche was released under the Presidential Unsealing and Reporting System for UAP Encounters, or PURSUE. The collection includes historical case files, military footage and research documents spanning decades.
The department's records classify many of the reported incidents as unresolved and do not establish that any of the objects were extraterrestrial.
The release includes the Project Blue Book file on the Tremonton incident, in which US Navy Chief Warrant Officer Delbert C. Newhouse filmed a group of bright objects on 2 July 1952. Newhouse reported seeing roughly 10 to 14 objects, which he described as disc‑shaped.
The subsequent investigation considered several possible explanations, including birds, balloons and optical effects, but did not conclusively identify the objects.
The photographic evidence did not allow investigators to reach a conclusive identification. The release also includes a roughly 65‑minute recording of Air Force Capt. Edward J. Ruppelt giving a UFO briefing in March 1952.
Ruppelt said about 20 per cent of roughly 800 cases were reports from what he regarded as reliable observers for which investigators could draw no conclusion. More recent files include infrared military footage of six spherical objects over the Middle East in 2025, accompanied by a mission report.
Some reports describe objects travelling in groups or appearing to change direction. The available imagery does not, by itself, establish the nature or origin of the objects.
The Defense Intelligence Agency's Advanced Aerospace Weapon System Applications Program(AAWSAP) programme was established in 2008 to examine potential future aerospace threats and technologies. The programme ran from 2008 to 2012 and is associated with a series of Defense Intelligence Reference Documents, 37 of which were publicly released through FOIA.
The documents cover speculative concepts including warp drives, wormholes, antigravity, negative‑mass propulsion, metallic glass and cloaking. Some of the documents also discuss methods for manipulating electromagnetic, thermal or radar signatures.
The documents were intended as reference material on potential technologies and aerospace applications, rather than as evidence that those technologies had been demonstrated.
AAWSAP's contractor was Bigelow Aerospace Advanced Space Studies, a company founded by Robert Bigelow. The newly released paperwork adds detail about the programme's scope and contracting, while many of the underlying technical papers had previously been made public through FOIA releases.
President Donald Trump directed his administration in February to begin identifying and releasing government files related to UFOs, UAPs and extraterrestrial life. The first PURSUE tranche was released on 8 May, followed by additional releases in May, June, July and August.
Reaction online included both positive and sceptical commentary, with some researchers highlighting the historical records and others focusing on the footage's limitations and the extent of the redactions. Some commentators questioned the timing or political context of the release.
The department's published material does not identify the released records as evidence of extraterrestrial visitation. A department spokesman said the sixth release formed part of the continuing declassification effort, with further records to follow. The department's PURSUE website provides access to the released records and lists earlier tranches.
The released records add historical and technical detail, but they do not establish the origin of the reported objects.
UFO Researcher Becomes Christian, Claiming 700 Abductions Were 'Demonic' Entities Stopped by Jesus Christ
A Florida UFO investigator says 700 alleged abductions ended when witnesses called on Jesus, leading him to conclude the encounters were demonic rather than extraterrestrial (image is for illustration purposes only)
PHOTO AI Generated image
Joe Jordan, a Florida-based UFO investigator who became a Christian in 1996, says testimonies he has collected since 1997 led him to believe some alleged alien-abduction experiences have a spiritual or demonic explanation.
Jordan began studying UFO reports in the early 1990s after reading about the 1947 Roswell incident. He says he became a Mutual UFO Network (MUFON) field investigator in 1992 and later held a state section director role.
In the years that followed, his research increasingly focused on alleged alien-abduction experiences. In a July 2026 interview, Jordan said he had dealt with 'well over 700' case histories since 1997 involving people who reported alleged abduction encounters.
Jordan's turning point came with an experiencer he identified only as 'Bill D.' Jordan said the man described the experience as dark and having satanic overtones. According to Jordan, the man cried out, 'Jesus, Jesus, help me!' and reported that the experience immediately stopped, he then said he woke up in his bed.
Jordan said the account surprised him because, in his view, researchers he had encountered at the time generally treated alleged abductions as experiences that could not be stopped once they began.
He says he subsequently collected numerous similar testimonies from people who reported that prayers, hymns or invocations of Jesus ended their experiences, and said he had repeatedly encountered testimonies in which the reported experience ended after the person invoked Jesus.
'The way it changed my life is seeing that the power and the name and authority of Jesus Christ convinced me 100 percent that God is real, the Bible is real, Jesus was real,' Jordan said. 'You call on him for help, he's there for help.'
Jordan rejects the idea that people are physically transported aboard spacecraft. He instead describes the experiences as 'demonic spiritual visionary experience[s]' and says, 'Nobody's getting taken anywhere.' He has also argued that involvement with occult or paranormal practices can, in his view, make people more vulnerable to such experiences.
The idea that some UFO phenomena may have a non-extraterrestrial or interdimensional explanation has been discussed by researchers including Jacques Vallée, while Hal Puthoff has discussed a range of possible 'ultraterrestrial' interpretations, including demonic or djinn-like possibilities. Some Christian commentators have also argued that alleged extraterrestrial encounters could have a demonic explanation.
The idea has even reached the highest levels of US politics. Vice President JD Vance said during a March 27, 2026, podcast appearance that he did not think UFOs were aliens, adding, 'I think they're demons.' Vance added that, in his view, major world religions have long recognised phenomena that are difficult to explain.
Jordan alleges that some UFO researchers have encountered similar testimonies but chose not to discuss them publicly because they feared the effect on their credibility. He has not publicly identified those researchers. Jordan has described the alleged withholding of such accounts by researchers as a 'cover-up.'
Jordan says his Christian faith predates much of his later research. He has described himself before his conversion as a New Age practitioner who used crystals and said he became a Christian in the autumn of 1996 after a Christian acquaintance gave him a Bible.
Jordan has described himself as a safety professional working for Blue Origin in Florida. He pointed to the US government's longstanding lack of verified evidence that UFOs or UAPs are extraterrestrial.
In a 2024 historical review, the Pentagon's All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office said it had found no evidence that any US government investigation, academic-sponsored research or official review had confirmed a UAP represented extraterrestrial technology.
Jordan's own research describes the alleged phenomenon in terms of interdimensional, extradimensional or ultradimensional possibilities rather than 'extraterrestrial biological entities.'
The accounts described in this article are based primarily on testimony and claims made by Jordan and people he says he has interviewed. Reports have not independently verified the alleged abduction experiences or established that they were caused by extraterrestrial or demonic entities.
According to Jordan, some of the people whose testimonies he has collected described paralysis, fear and encounters with entities they believed were extraterrestrial, followed by an end to the experience after they invoked Jesus.
Whether the reports reflect a spiritual phenomenon, a psychological or neurological experience, or another explanation remains unresolved. For now, the available evidence establishes the existence of the testimonies, not the supernatural explanation Jordan assigns to them.
RELATED
US Military Thought 1952 'Flying Disc' Footage Showed Seagulls Before Declassified Documents Dropped
The US military recorded UFO reports ranging from floating orbs travelling at 480 mph over the Middle East to a 1952 'flying disc' case that the Air Force later attributed to seagulls, according to newly released declassified UFO files. The records detail sightings and investigations spanning several decades.
UFOs And Floating Orbs Recorded At 480 MPH
For context, a 2025 US Central Command (CENTCOM) report detailed a sighting involving 'six small spherical objects, grouped together' that were 'frequently changing direction' while travelling at 480 mph. One minute of accompanying video showed the objects flying over what appeared to be a desert region.
The files also include a 2023 video showing circular objects over the Yellow Sea. The objects were spotted by an infrared sensor aboard a US military platform, according to the report.
That same year, a Colorado law enforcement officer recorded a 15-minute mobile phone video of a UFO with 'red, blue and green flashing lights'. The object remained 'silent' while hovering in the sky.
The recent reports appear alongside historical records from the office of the US Air Force Director of Intelligence concerning 'flying disc' incidents recorded between September and December 1952.
Declassified UFO Files Revisit 1952 Flying Disc Footage
A separate 1952 incident involved Chief Warrant Officer Delbert Newhouse, who saw what appeared to be flying discs near Tremonton, Utah, and captured the objects on film. He was travelling from Washington, DC, to Portland, Oregon, when he recorded the footage on 2 July using a Bell and Howell auto master camera.
The 16mm Kodachrome colour motion-picture footage showed a group of bright airborne objects. According to the declassified document webpage, the film later became one of the visual cases reviewed by Project Blue Book, the US Air Force programme that investigated the nature and origin of UFOs from 1952 to 1969.
Investigators considered whether the objects could have been 'pillow balloons'. They contacted General Mills, described in the document as 'the only known manufacturer of pillow balloons at the time', to determine whether a balloon release could account for the incident.
In 1956, the Air Force Photo Reconnaissance Lab concluded that the light in the film 'was caused by seagulls soaring in thermal air currents'. However, another analysis in the files said it was 'believed to be reasonably certain' that the objects' reflection brightness exceeded that of natural diffusing objects such as white birds against the sky.
The records also describe a separate report made the day before Newhouse filmed the objects. An unidentified correspondent reported seeing a 'white object, shaped like an "elongated oval"' but 'fatter than a cigar', with an estimated length of about 100 feet.
The newly released files follow an executive order signed by President Donald Trump in February 2026 that, according to the source, declassified most information concerning the government's unresolved strange-sighting cases. The release places recent military observations alongside historical records documenting earlier investigations into reported aerial objects.
Scientists Heard Earth’s Magnetic Field Collapse 41,000 Years Ago, And It Sounds Straight Out Of A Horror Movie
Scientists have recreated the sound of an ancient disruption in Earth’s magnetic field, revealing a rare planetary event from 41,000 years ago.
© Credit: Shutterstock
Scientists have transformed data from one of Earth’s most dramatic magnetic disturbances into an unusual soundscape, allowing listeners to hear the changes that affected the planet’s protective magnetic shield around 41,000 years ago. The reconstruction was presented by the European Space Agency (ESA) as part of its work exploring Earth’s magnetic history and the forces shaping our planet.
The audio representation comes from the period known as the Laschamps event, a temporary weakening and partial reversal of Earth’s magnetic field that occurred during the last ice age. Researchers used measurements of magnetic particles preserved in geological records to recreate how the field changed over time.
The Earth’s magnetic field is generated by movements inside the planet’s outer core, where flowing molten iron creates a global shield against charged particles from the Sun and space. Over geological timescales, this field can weaken, shift direction, and recover.
During the Laschamps event, magnetic strength dropped significantly compared with normal conditions. The magnetic north and south poles did not permanently switch places, but the field became unstable before returning to its current configuration.
Researchers recreated this period by combining evidence from ancient rocks, sediments, and other natural archives that recorded changes in magnetic conditions. The data was then converted into sound frequencies, creating a representation of how the magnetic fluctuations evolved.
The European Space Agency published the sonification project to demonstrate how space and planetary science data can be experienced through different senses. The agency has used satellite observations and scientific models to study changes in Earth’s magnetic environment.
The resulting soundscape contains deep, unsettling tones created from variations in magnetic field intensity and movement. The audio does not represent a threat from the past, but provides a new perspective on the dynamic nature of Earth’s invisible shield.
Strength of the magnetic field at Earth’s surface.
Credit: ESA
The Laschamps event occurred during a period when Earth was already experiencing major environmental transformations. Scientists continue to examine how changes in the magnetic field may have interacted with conditions on the surface.
Researchers studying this ancient period have found links between the event and other records of environmental shifts.
“This is consistent with climate and environmental changes from this time observed in other records from across the globe, such as the mysterious extinction of Australia’s megafauna.”
The same period also overlaps with evidence of early human cultural activity. “Curiously, it also coincides with some of our oldest cave art on record, prompting the researchers to hypothesize that the event could have driven humans indoors.”
Scientists stress that the relationship between the magnetic event, environmental changes, and human behavior remains an area of investigation. The evidence does not show that the magnetic disruption directly caused these developments, but the timing has encouraged researchers to explore possible connections.
The study of past magnetic changes helps scientists understand how Earth’s protective system behaves during periods of instability. These ancient records provide a long-term perspective that cannot be obtained from modern observations alone.
Modern researchers are also monitoring unusual areas of Earth’s magnetic field, including the South Atlantic Anomaly, a region where the field is weaker than surrounding areas. This zone affects satellite operations because spacecraft passing through it can encounter higher levels of energetic particles.
The anomaly has attracted attention because its behavior is not identical across the region. Scientists are studying whether current changes represent normal variations in Earth’s magnetic system or part of a longer pattern.
“The South Atlantic Anomaly is not just a single block,” said Chris Finlay, professor of geomagnetism at the Technical University of Denmark, who led a 2025 study examining the growth in the anomaly.
“It’s changing differently towards Africa than it is near South America. There’s something special happening in this region that is causing the field to weaken in a more intense way.”
Researchers continue to use satellite missions, including ESA’s Swarm satellites, to monitor magnetic changes around the planet. These observations provide detailed measurements of how the field evolves over years and decades.
The ancient Laschamps event and modern magnetic variations occur on very different timescales, but studying both helps scientists build a broader picture of Earth’s magnetic behavior.
Understanding past magnetic disruptions gives scientists information about the possible range of changes that can occur within Earth’s magnetic system. These records also support research into space weather, satellite protection, and the interaction between Earth and its surrounding environment.
“Understanding these extreme events is important for their occurrence in the future, space climate predictions, and assessing the effects on the environment and on the Earth system,” said Sanja Panovska of GFZ Potsdam, Germany, who reconstructed the magnetic field data behind the sonification back in 2024.
The recreated sound of the Laschamps event offers a new method for communicating complex planetary science. By turning invisible magnetic movements into audio, researchers can make changes that normally exist only in datasets more accessible.
Earth’s magnetic field remains active and constantly changing. The sound created from its ancient transformation serves as a reminder that the planet’s protective systems have a long history of variation and adaptation.
Future missions and geological research will continue examining how magnetic changes unfold and what they reveal about Earth’s interior, atmosphere, and relationship with space.
