In a new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers demonstrate a method that combines mass spectrometry with machine learning to estimate what researchers call “molecular assembly,” or MA.

The concept comes from Assembly Theory, which attempts to quantify molecular complexity by identifying the minimum number of construction steps needed to build a molecule. Researchers argue that when highly complex molecules appear repeatedly and in abundance, their existence may point to a process that is consistently steering chemistry down particular pathways.

That could make molecular assembly useful as an “agnostic” biosignature—one that does not depend on alien life sharing Earth’s chemistry.

A novel framework suggests life might be revealed not by single clues, but by subtle patterns spanning many worlds, offering a different lens for detecting life in the universe.

Credit: Stock

“There is a growing interest in ‘agnostic’ life detection strategies: methods that can identify molecular signs of life without needing an exact understanding of what that life might look like, or how it might interact with a complex, poorly characterized environment,” the researchers write. “The measured assembly index, defined as the number of steps along the shortest construction pathway, is fixed for each molecule and does not depend on external conditions, such as the environment in which the molecule might be detected or the specific ‘alien’ biochemistry from which it might arise.”

The researchers’ proposed “agnostic” approach could become increasingly important as scientists encounter tantalizing, but often ambiguous, chemical signals in the search for alien life.

Methane on Mars, phosphine reported in Venus’s atmosphere, and dimethyl sulfide proposed as a possible biosignature within exoplanet atmospheres have all attracted attention because living organisms can produce those compounds.

However, biology is not the only way to make them. Methane, for example, can emerge from geologic processes. Dimethyl sulfide is strongly associated with life on Earth, yet it has also been detected in cometary material and produced in laboratory experiments simulating primordial chemistry.

The presence of a particular molecule, in other words, does not necessarily tell scientists what produced it. Molecular assembly approaches the problem from a different angle. Under Assembly Theory, researchers calculate the shortest possible pathway for constructing a molecule from simpler building blocks. A molecule with an MA of 40, for example, has a shortest construction pathway twice as long as one with an MA of 20.

The reasoning is rooted in probability. Undirected chemistry has an enormous range of possible molecular structures. As molecules become more complex, the odds of repeatedly producing the same highly elaborate structure shrink unless something constrains the process.

Biological systems store and use information to direct chemical reactions toward particular outcomes, permitting organisms to manufacture the same complicated molecules again and again instead of wandering randomly through the immense space of possible chemistry.

Previous experiments cited in the study found an approximate dividing line between abiotic and biological samples at an assembly index of around 15.

Perhaps more importantly, in the search for alien life, scientists would not necessarily need to know what a molecule is before recognizing that it is unusually complex.

That could be especially useful on worlds such as Mars, Europa, Enceladus, or Titan, where spacecraft may encounter compounds unlike anything commonly found on Earth.

Several proposed planetary missions use, or could use, mass spectrometers. These instruments analyze molecules by measuring ions’ mass-to-charge ratios.

More sophisticated multistage mass spectrometers can repeatedly break molecules apart, giving indications of their structure and assembly history. But spacecraft operate under severe limits on power, mass, computing capacity, and instrument complexity. Many planetary missions, therefore, rely on simpler, single-stage mass spectrometry.

To close that gap, the researchers trained an XGBoost model on standardized mass spectra from the National Institute of Standards and Technology Chemistry WebBook. The model learned to estimate molecular assembly directly from single-stage spectra.

According to the study, it reduced relative mean squared error threefold compared with the best-performing baseline model, cutting the figure from 0.12 to 0.04.

The model also tended to underestimate molecules with especially high MA values. For a life-detection system, that bias could be preferable. It means the model was more likely to be conservative than to classify a molecule as an unusually strong biosignature mistakenly.

Researchers envision future spacecraft using this kind of analysis autonomously. A rover or lander that detects molecules with unusually high assembly scores might flag the surrounding area for closer inspection, prioritize certain samples, or identify material worth returning to Earth.

The study explicitly evaluated conditions designed to resemble instruments proposed for missions to Titan and Europa.

The same framework also raised another, more speculative possibility: when the researchers compared very large molecular databases, they identified several medical compounds with unusually high MA values. Their complexity was not the product of biology alone, but of deliberate human synthesis.

That led the team to suggest that particularly complex artificial molecules might serve as “molecular technosignatures”—chemical evidence oftechnology, rather than life itself.

For now, however, the method remains far from being a ready-to-fly alien-life detector. Instrument settings strongly affected performance. In simulated experiments, changing impact energies could nearly double prediction error, while one comparison increased it by more than 2.3 times. Molecules that break apart unusually easily can also cause the model to overestimate assembly, while molecules that resist fragmentation may be underestimated.

The researchers therefore describe the study as a proof of concept. Turning the approach into an effective tool for planetary investigation would require standardized databases, careful instrument calibration, and chromatographic separation to isolate individual molecules before analysis.

Future versions could also combine mass spectrometry with other techniques, including nuclear magnetic resonance or infrared spectroscopy. Infrared measurements, the researchers suggest, extend aspects of the approach to the remote study of exoplanet atmospheres.

Yet the wider goal is significant. Instead of deciding beforehand what alien biology should produce, scientists could search for evidence that a process has persistently directed chemistry toward highly specific, complex outcomes.

“In this work, we presented a proof-of-concept demonstrating the potential use of ML to predict the MA molecular complexity as a biosignature from in situ mass spectrometers during future space missions,” the researchers write. “Although the application of ML in life detection remains a nascent endeavor, it holds significant promise.”

The recent study, “Molecular Assembly as a Universal Biosignature Measurable by Mass Spectrometry,” appeared in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

• Tim McMillan is a retired law enforcement executive, investigative reporter and co-founder of The Debrief. His writing typically focuses on defense, national security, the Intelligence Community and topics related to psychology. You can follow Tim on Twitter: @LtTimMcMillan.  Tim can be reached by email: tim@thedebrief.org or through encrypted email: LtTimMcMillan@protonmail.com 

{ https://thedebrief.org/category/space/ }

Dolphin researchers have spotted the intelligent mammals teaching each other to hunt for food in a way that has never been seen before along Australia's east coast.

A team from the University of the Sunshine Coast in Australia captured video of bottlenose dolphins using large shells like a bucket to scoop up fish and eat them.

Moreover, researchers watched as one dolphin's offspring picked up a shell and copied their mother's clever new hunting hack - known as shelling.

The tool-using dolphins were seen catching fish along Australia’s east coast in both July and October 2025, showing researchers that this was a consistent behavior and not a fluke.

The only other time scientists have ever recorded dolphins picking up an empty shell to scoop food with was a group living in Shark Bay on Australia's west coast, nearly 20 years ago and 3,700 miles away.

Although the team noted that there had been stories and reported sightings of dolphins using tools to fish with in the 1990s, scientists have never captured images or video of the animals doing this outside of that group of 19 bottlenoses in Shark Bay.

Dr Alexis Levengood, a marine mammal expert who led the new study, said in a statement: 'Our observations in Queensland show that dolphins on opposite sides of Australia have learned to use tools in the exact same way, independent of one another.'

The scientists added that the images of the young dolphin, nicknamed Bentley, copying its mother, Maserati, were also groundbreaking, as it proved dolphins not only copy their peers in the ocean, but also take after their parents as well.

Bottlenose dolphins along Australia's east coast were spotted using shells as tools to fish with for the first time in history in 2025

The behavior, known as shelling, involves the dolphins taking large empty shells and scooping up fish. They then empty the water, leaving the fish to flop out an be eaten

The researchers made two direct observations in 2025 during boat surveys along Australia's eastern shores.

On July 6, an adult female nicknamed Stevie Nicks was seen lifting a large empty bailer shell out of the water several times while maneuvering it with her mouth, although rain made it hard for the team to see if Stevie Nicks scooped up a fish on that attempt.

'We were on a research boat off Hervey Bay when we spotted a dolphin raising something large out of the water. I started screaming because I know what shelling looks like,' Levengood said in a university release.

However, on October 1, 2025, the mother dolphin named Maserati brought a shell to the surface while scientists were recording.

The dolphin was spotted draining at least one fish from the shell, dropping the bucket and chasing after the fish.

Minutes later, her calf Bentley picked up the same shell, held it the same way and slapped it on the surface - revealing a fish inside waiting to be eaten.

'Our footage provides the first potential evidence of maternal social transmission - a process by which offspring learn behavior by observing the actions of its mother. It challenges the belief that dolphins learn this tool use from their peers,' the study author explained.

Although bottlenose dolphins are a common sight along the US East and West Coasts, as they regularly migrate between warm water locations, scientists have not seen any of these mammals learning to shell yet.

Dolphins in the US have never been seen shelling (Pictured) like the bottlenose population in Australia

Dolphins were thought to learn most of their behaviors from peers. The new study finds they also learn from their parents (Stock Image)

Levengood noted that tour boats in Australia may have photographed more instances of shelling in 2013 and 2019, but scientists did not learn about those sightings until this study, published in the journal Marine Mammal Science.

The scientists added that this new skill has not been learned by every dolphin in the area yet, however, it could be easy enough for all of these mammals to pick it up once they see enough of their peers doing it.

'We know they don't all do it. It takes some skill, it takes some knowledge of where to find these empty shells, how to maneuver those shells, and how to be successful in getting the fish out,' Levengood told ScienceAlert.

'All it takes is one dolphin doing something clever that is easily learnable for it to spread.'

RELATED

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

Move aside, Usain Bolt! Watch as a humanoid robot dubbed 'Superman' sets a new world speed record – hitting 28.3mph or 45,5 kmph

• READ MORE: Self–dressing robot puts your clothes on for you in 10 seconds 
  

By XANTHA LEATHAM, EXECUTIVE SCIENCE EDITOR

Chinese scientists have developed a robot that can outrun Usain Bolt.

An incredible video shows the prototype, nicknamed 'Superman', reaching speeds of 12.66m per second (28.3mph) as it races along a track.

In comparison, sprinting champion Usain Bolt reached a speed of 12.42m per second (27.78mph) when he set the world record at the World Athletics Championship in 2009.

The robot has been designed by Unitree, a Hangzhou–based Chinese robotics company best known for developing high–performance robot dogs and humanoid robots.

A separate part of the video shows the machine jumping an impressive two metres vertically into the air from standing.

This also beats the current human world record, set by US's Christopher Spell in 2021, of 1.7m (5ft 7in) from a standing jump.

Sharing the video on X, the company wrote: 'Unitree new robot preview: "Superman" breaking the limits of humanity.

'This new machine has only been in development for a little over three months, with significant room for further improvement in the coming months.'

An incredible video shows the prototype, nicknamed 'Superman', reaching speeds of 12.66 metres per second (28.3mph) as it races along a track

The spectacular demonstrations appear to have been designed to showcase the robot's raw physical capabilities, rather than a practical task it could currently perform.

However, the video is simply a company demonstration, and the impressive sprint and jump claims have not yet been verified independently.

The robot, which has been developed incredibly quickly, has a reported leg length of just 0.85m (2.8ft).

This makes the speed achieved particularly striking given the relatively short stride of the robot.

While the video is impressive, some people online have also found it amusing.

One person commented: 'That's probably the goofiest running I've ever seen', while another added: 'He runs like a dork.'

Someone else joked: 'School sports days are never going to be the same ever again.'

However, others appeared to be dazzled by the display, with one person writing: 'If the hardware keeps improving at this pace, humanoid robots are going to become capable of some seriously impressive things very quickly.'

The machine, which has allegedly been developed incredibly quickly, has a reported leg length of just 0.85 metres (2.8 feet). This makes the speed achieved particularly striking given the relatively short stride of the robot

The team say their robot could outrun Usain Bolt. Pictured: Bolt wins the men's 100m final race of the 2009 IAAF Athletics World Championships

A separate part of the video shows the machine also appearing to jump an impressive two metres vertically into the air from standing

Man vs Humanoid

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

Did Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan have UFO Experiences?

by Steve Paslow

Jimmy Carter had a well-documented UFO sighting in Georgia in 1969, several years before he became governor and eight years before becoming President. The incident is particularly interesting because Carter was a trained Navy officer and nuclear engineer, and he later personally filed a written report describing what he saw. The National Archives confirms that the Carter Presidential Library holds the report.

The sighting occurred near Leary, Georgia, while Carter was attending a Lions Club meeting where he was scheduled to give a speech. The original report was filed several years later, in 1973, after the International UFO Bureau asked him to document the experience.

Carter described a very bright object or light in the sky. It appeared to be approximately the size of the Moon at its brightest. It changed colors, including blue, white, and red. The image appeared to move toward him and then away. He watched it for roughly 10–12 minutes.

Approximately 10–12 other people were reportedly watching it with him. Carter’s written report described the object as apparently luminous rather than solid. The report also indicates that the observation occurred after dark, with stars visible.

Carter’s original 1973 report apparently gave the date as October 1969. A later examination of Lions Club records established that the meeting at which Carter spoke was actually held on January 6, 1969, at approximately 7:15 p.m. Modern accounts therefore generally use that date, although Carter himself originally remembered the event as occurring in October.

One proposed explanation for the sighting has been the planet Venus. Skeptic Robert Sheaffer argued that Venus was exceptionally bright that evening and was located in the appropriate region of the sky. However, if Carter’s description of the object’s apparent size is taken literally, Venus becomes a very poor explanation.

The Moon spans about half a degree across the sky, while even at its largest apparent size Venus is only about one-thirtieth the Moon’s diameter and appears to the unaided eye essentially as an extremely bright point of light. Atmospheric glare can make Venus seem somewhat larger or cause it to shimmer and change color near the horizon, but it cannot give the planet an actual Moon-sized visible disk.

Carter reported that the luminous object at its brightest appeared approximately the size of the Moon, changed between blue, white, and red, changed in apparent size, and seemed to move toward the observers and then away again during the roughly ten-to-twelve-minute observation.

A planet would maintain essentially the same position and angular size over such a short period. For these reasons, particularly the enormous difference between the apparent sizes of Venus and the Moon, Venus does not satisfactorily account for Carter’s reported observation. Whatever Carter and the other witnesses saw, dismissing the entire incident simply as a sighting of Venus leaves several important elements of their description unexplained.

Barium cloud as it could appear in the night sky,

However, years later researchers examined the records of the Lions Club in Leary, Georgia, where Carter said he had been preparing to give a speech when the sighting occurred. Those records indicate that Carter actually spoke to the club on January 6, 1969. If that was indeed the night of the sighting, an important piece of evidence emerges that may explain what Carter and the other witnesses saw.

On that same evening, the U.S. Air Force was conducting an upper-atmosphere experiment from Eglin Air Force Base in Florida. According to a U.S. space-science report, a rocket released a large barium cloud at approximately 7:35 p.m. EST, only about twenty minutes after the time Carter remembered seeing the object. The barium was released at an altitude of approximately 152 kilometers, or about 94 miles, where it could still be illuminated by sunlight even though it was already dark on the ground.

The location also fits Carter’s account remarkably well. Eglin Air Force Base is approximately 234 kilometers from Leary, Georgia, in a west-southwesterly direction. From Leary, a barium cloud at the reported altitude would have appeared roughly 33 degrees above the horizon. Carter estimated that the mysterious object was about 30 degrees above the horizon and reported that it appeared in the western part of the sky.

Even more significant is the object’s appearance. Carter described it as luminous rather than solid, initially bluish and later reddish, changing in brightness and apparent size. That is consistent with the behavior of an artificial barium cloud in the upper atmosphere. Barium illuminated by sunlight can initially produce a bluish or greenish glow, while portions of the cloud can become reddish as the material ionizes. As the cloud rapidly expands and disperses, its apparent size, shape, brightness, and position can also seem to change to observers on the ground.

This explanation also fits Carter’s statement that the object became approximately the apparent size of the Moon. Unlike Venus, which remains essentially a brilliant point of light to the unaided eye, an expanding chemical cloud can cover a substantial area of the sky.

Therefore, if the Lions Club records have correctly established January 6, 1969 as the actual date of Carter’s sighting, the barium-cloud experiment from Eglin Air Force Base is probably the strongest explanation for the mysterious object. The date, approximate time, direction, altitude, colors, luminosity, changing apparent size, and non-solid appearance all correspond closely with what Carter reported. It cannot be proven with absolute certainty that the barium cloud was what Carter saw, but the coincidence is sufficiently strong that it offers a far more convincing explanation than the planet Venus.

{ https://mysticsciences.com/ }

Department of War 'Actively Investigating' Hidden 100-Foot Triangle UFO Base Cellphone Videos

Unverified cellphone footage reportedly shows a 100-foot triangular object near a military base, sparking an official investigation

Two figures dressed as extraterrestrials sit inside a car as an eerie orange glow fills the sky, creating a scene straight out of a sci-fi film 

PHOTO Miriam Espacio/Unsplash

The Department of War is investigating claims that the US Air Force is withholding two cellphone videos allegedly showing a 100-foot-wide triangular object near a Colorado military base. Acting Pentagon Press Secretary Joel Valdez said officials were 'actively investigating' the whereabouts of recordings reportedly made by a service member on consecutive nights in 2023.

The videos have not been publicly released or independently authenticated. Details about the object's size, movements and apparent ability to blend into clouds come from anonymous sources cited by the New York Post. Officials have confirmed only that they are investigating the reported footage.

Valdez said any material uncovered would be released through the administration's Presidential Unsealing and Reporting System for UAP Encounters, known as PURSUE. The government launched the system in May as part of President Donald Trump's push to release previously classified material concerning unidentified anomalous phenomena, or UAPs.

What The Classified Videos Allegedly Show

According to sources cited by the New York Post, the recordings allegedly show a black triangular object approximately 100 feet (30 metres) across flying near a military installation somewhere in Colorado.

The object was reportedly seen moving rapidly above mountain ranges and appearing to blend into or conceal itself within clouds. The videos were allegedly recorded on a service member's personal phone on consecutive nights in 2023.

Sources also claimed the footage is held by the Air Force Office of Special Investigations (AFOSI) in Colorado under file numbers IRR1669S015524 and IRR1669S005024. Neither the reported file numbers nor the contents of the alleged recordings have been independently verified.

If genuine, cellphone footage would provide a different type of evidence from UAP observations captured by military aircraft, radar or infrared systems. The original recordings would still need to be examined to establish the object's apparent distance, size, speed and identity.

Colorado Already Has Triangle Sightings

The alleged videos have emerged alongside government records describing other triangle-shaped objects reported near Colorado Springs.

One FBI recorddescribes a former Pentagon employee who said he saw a silent, nearly translucent triangular object pass over his Colorado home in 2023. The account was included in the government's wider UAP disclosure effort.

The geographical and chronological overlap has encouraged UAP researchers to consider whether the cases could be connected. However, no publicly available evidence currently establishes a connection between them.

The witness report documents what the former employee said he saw, but does not establish what the object was. The same distinction applies to the alleged cellphone videos until the original recordings can be located, authenticated and independently analysed.

The Videos Remain Unverified

The Department of War's statement does not confirm that the videos depict a 100-foot unidentified craft. Officials have not publicly released the recordings, confirmed the reported file numbers or established that the Air Force is deliberately concealing evidence of unidentified or extraterrestrial technology. The most dramatic details currently depend on unnamed sources.

If the videos are located and released, investigators could examine perspective, atmospheric conditions, camera movement and the object's relationship with surrounding terrain. That could help determine whether its reported size and behaviour are consistent with the original claims.

Secrecy Does Not Prove Aliens

Even if the recordings exist and remain classified, that would not necessarily indicate extraterrestrial technology. Footage recorded near a military facility could reveal sensitive information about the installation, surveillance capabilities, aircraft movements, security arrangements or the identity of the service member who recorded it.

There are legitimate national-security reasons why military footage might remain restricted even when officials cannot immediately identify what appears in it. Classification therefore does not settle what the videos show. It could simply mean officials have reasons for limiting access to the material.

PURSUE Faces Its First Big Test

The investigation comes as the Trump administration continues its UAP disclosure programme through PURSUE. The Department of War's official PURSUE database contains hundreds of UAP-related records, including documents, images, audio and videos from multiple government agencies.

The first tranche was released on 8 May 2026, followed by additional batches on 22 May, 12 June and 10 July. The fourth release brought the publicly searchable database to 334 files, according to the department's portal.

The administration also announced efforts to remove barriers preventing some former government employees and contractors from discussing information concerning UAP programmes through authorised channels.

The policy does not automatically make classified recordings public. Information supplied to the government still has to undergo appropriate security and declassification reviews. That makes the alleged Colorado videos a test of whether the administration can turn its transparency campaign into evidence that the public can actually examine.

Investigation Continues Without a Timetable

Valdez said the government would release what it finds through PURSUE, but no timetable has been given for the alleged videos. For now, the story rests on anonymous claims, publicly released Colorado UAP reports and an official investigation into footage that has not been publicly examined or authenticated.

If the recordings are found, released and authenticated, they could become significant evidence in the administration's UAP disclosure programme. Until then, the 100-foot triangle remains an allegation and the missing cellphone videos remain the key evidence needed to determine whether the reported encounter can be substantiat

{ https://www.ibtimes.co.uk/ }

Are UAP Orbs Adversary Drones?

 Avi Loeb

A UAP orb spotted in the Gulf of Oman on September 8, 2021. A U.S. AC-130 Gunship was conducting live fire training during a period of darkness. The AC-130 first observed UAPs when the aircraft dropped a water-activated flare to use as a mock target. The AC-130 entered an orbit around the flare and the Combat Systems Officer conducted collateral scans with the aircraft’s Electro Optical/Infrared sensor. When the infrared sensor was slewed back to the flare, two ~4-foot diameter cold orbs between 0 and 20 feet above the surface of the water were observed to be stationary over the flare for about 15 seconds. Afterwards the aircraft fired its 105mm cannon. Immediately upon pulling the trigger, during the slight delay between trigger pull and the cannon’s recoil, the pair of UAPs rapidly flew away from the flare and out of the sensor feed without changing altitude. The AC-130 crew observed ~25 instances of UAPs viewed in the infrared as cold orbs during the sortie. Two UAPs were observed flying in a loose but coordinated formation, increasing and decreasing altitude like a wave while maneuvering around, over, and under each other in a manner similar to how dolphins swim. UAPs were also separately observed flying in a formation of three and separately observed flying erratically and maneuvering aggressively. The AC-130's crew attempted to save the footage of the UAP observations but the aircraft’s Digital Video Recorder (DVR) inexplicably failed and the video data became corrupted. ( Image credit: DoW)

Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP) are a mixed bag. It is therefore important to separate the wheat (truly anomalous) from the chaff (human-made technologies). Let us illustrate this challenge in the context of orbs.

The mysterious orbs mentioned in the records of the Presidential Unsealing and Reporting System for UAP Encounters (PURSUE) here, have the following physical properties:

1. Size: of order 1 meter.
2. Speed: 100–600 meters per second, between 0.3 and 1.7 times the speed of sound, as reported in videos from the Gulf of Oman, available here, here, here and here.
3. Thermal Signature: The orbs appear cold on infrared sensors, meaning they register as colder than background on thermal imagery, the opposite of what one might expect from any combustion-based propulsion or from aerodynamic heating at the reported speeds.
4. Radar Cross-Section: some orbs are independently tracked by multiple radar systems while others appear to have been characterized primarily via optical/infrared sensor data rather than confirmed radar returns. Note that infrared-only detections are more vulnerable to sensor artifacts, lens flare, and out-of-focus point sources than radar-confirmed contacts.
5. Color and Visual Appearance: Reports span black, white, and unspecified metallic/reflective appearances.
6. Coordinated Behavior: Formation flying.
7. Apparent reactivity to aircraft firing its main cannon in the Gulf of Oman incident.
8. No visible propulsion, exhaust, or control surfaces.
9. Transmedium behavior: Air-water transition capability was documented in some cases.

The following properties fit conventional drones:

1. Size: The inferred dimension is squarely in the range of fielded small quadcopter or multirotor drones used for both commercial and military applications.
2. No visible propulsion, exhaust, or control surfaces: Small electric multirotor drones have no exhaust plume and their rotors are often too small and fast-spinning to resolve on standard military infrared or handheld camera footage.
3. Coordinated behavior: This is common technology of fielded drone swarms, either pre-programmed or centrally piloted, which is likely deployed in the Gulf of Oman where several such incidents occurred.
4. Apparent reactivity: Response to weapons fire is fully explicable by a remotely piloted or sensor-equipped drone. A human or AI operator or onboard threat-detection system responding to being shot at (visually, acoustically, or via radar-warning-type sensing) is unremarkable. This is precisely the kind of evasive behavior military drones are designed to exhibit. The concentration of reports in active conflict zones, such as the Gulf of Oman, Bagram in Afghanistan or U.S. Central Command, is expected if these are adversary drones rather than a phenomenon indifferent to human geopolitics. A genuinely exotic or natural phenomenon has no reason to cluster around the most heavily-instrumented, most militarily contested airspace on Earth.
5. Transmedium behavior: Experimental and fielded transmedium drones (labeled as UUV-UAS hybrid programs) exist (as discussed, for example, here). They include Chinese research into craft that can transition between air and water (as discussed here and here).

However, the drone interpretation is strained by the following properties:

1. Speed: The Gulf of Oman orbs reach sustained supersonic speeds which is not currently possible for small, rotor-based or ducted-fan drones. The aerodynamics and propulsion requirements for a multirotor-type craft at that speed are not remotely compatible with known small-drone engineering. If the high end of that speed range is accurate and correctly attributed to the same small objects rather than reflecting a measurement error, sensor artifact, or conflation with a separate fast-moving object like a missile in the same scene, this genuinely exceeds what any known drone technology, small or large, can do.
2. Thermal signature: Small electric drones typically do show a modest but detectable thermal signature from motors, batteries, and electronics and should not appear as cold orbs. Appearing cold relative to background is unusual for an active, powered device, although it might reflect a novel drone design which evades a thermal fingerprint given the distance and sensor sensitivity threshold.
3. Radar Cross-Section: Small drones, especially plastic/composite-bodied commercial ones, notoriously have very low radar cross-sections. This could explain why some orb incidents lack solid radar confirmation, but it suggests that other objects which were tracked on radar with a strong return, are different.

The most likely resolution for the mixed message in the above analysis is that not a single explanation covers all reported orbs. It is plausible that the majority of the low-speed, formation-flying, radar-quiet orbs are genuinely human-made drones, while the outlier high-speed or high-radar-cross-section cases within the same dataset represent either measurement error or an attribution mistake, whereby a fast-moving object like a missile or aircraft momentarily conflated with a slower drone swarm in the same scene.

Better digital data is needed to decide whether any of the UAP orbs represent a new class of objects of non-human origin. Such data could be obtained through future campaigns for new data collection, coordinated by the partnership between the U.S. Government and the UAP Science Advisory Council (https://uapsac.com/) under my leadership.

The Science of Orb UAP - What are they, if not drones? PLUS, EXCLUSIVE UFO FOOTAGE!

{ https://medium.com/ }

Pilots Report Unexplained Lights Over Cyprus as EU Steps Up UAP Monitoring

by Bill Giannopoulos

Pilots have reported unexplained aerial phenomena over Cyprus and Greece, including a striking incident in which six crew members observed unusual lights for more than two hours during a flight south of Cyprus.

The Cyprus sighting was described by Dutch airline pilot Rob Ackermans, who said the incident occurred in 2023 while he and five other crew members were flying from the Middle East to the Netherlands.

According to Ackermans, the unusual lights first appeared while the aircraft was south of Cyprus.

“We saw a light suddenly become very bright and then slowly fade away,” he recalled.

The pilot said the crew observed three lights, with one apparently moving around the others in a way that resembled a chase.

The phenomenon continued for an extended period, with two or all three lights occasionally disappearing before reappearing.

Crew considered possible military activity

The crew initially wondered whether the lights could be connected to military activity in the region.

However, Ackermans said the phenomenon remained visible in the same direction even after the aircraft had reached the Balkans.

The sighting did not appear to be limited to the aircraft crew. One of Ackermans’ colleagues reportedly saw the same phenomenon from the Netherlands the following day.

The incident has renewed attention on unexplained aerial phenomena, commonly referred to as UAPs, a term increasingly used by authorities and researchers instead of the traditional term UFO.

European Commission monitoring UAP reports

The European Commission has also become more active in monitoring reports involving unexplained aerial phenomena.

Euronews cited a response from the Commission’s defence department to two amateur astronomers in Malaysia who had submitted images showing 37 unexplained objects.

The increased attention comes as governments and aviation professionals continue to examine reports of unusual objects and lights observed in the skies.

There is currently no evidence that the reported phenomena are extraterrestrial in origin. Many such sightings can potentially be explained by aircraft, satellites, atmospheric effects, military activity or other human made objects.

Another unexplained sighting reported over Greece

The Cyprus incident is not the only unusual aerial sighting involving commercial pilots in the region.

Dutch pilot Christian van Heist previously described an incident over Greece in 2005, when he and colleagues observed a bright light apparently travelling at extremely high speed.

The sighting occurred around the time the USS Theodore Roosevelt aircraft carrier was travelling toward the Persian Gulf ahead of the second Gulf War.

The circumstances led the crew to consider whether the phenomenon could have been connected to military activity, although no definitive explanation was established.

France remains the only European Union member state with a dedicated, state funded centre focused on investigating UFO reports.

As interest in UAP sightings grows across Europe, reports from pilots and other trained observers are likely to receive increased scrutiny as authorities seek explanations for phenomena that remain unidentified.

{ https://greekcitytimes.com/greek-news }

EU Reportedly Monitoring Skies for UFOs

Pilots describe encounters over Cyprus and Mykonos as Brussels tracks such phenomena more closely than previously known, Euronews reports

For at least three years, the European Commission has quietly been monitoring “unidentified anomalous phenomena” (UAP), formerly known as UFOs, Euronews reported Monday, and the outlet also carries pilot accounts of incidents over Greece and Cyprus.

The report cites a reply that the Commission’s Defense department sent to two amateur astronomers in Malaysia, a father and son, who had sent Brussels images of 37 UAPs they spotted in the sky and space using their telescope.

The Malaysian pair wrote that they had also picked up various signals from above, through the Wi-Fi frequencies of local networks.

In its reply, the European Commission said it had no jurisdiction over incidents concerning Malaysia. It added that it is improving at spotting and identifying UAPs as its technological capabilities advance, though it still needs to get better. According to Euronews, the letter suggests Brussels is tracking such phenomena more actively than has been officially disclosed.

The two Malaysian astronomers appear to be Anamalai Muthu and his son Aarav Anamalai, who had also contacted NASA, ESA, and other space agencies in 2022, the same year they reached out to the Commission. The pair had told The Vibes at the time that NASA had encouraged them to expand and document their observations.

The term UAP was introduced by the U.S. Department of Defense in August 2020, when Washington created the UAP Task Force to look into unexplained incidents in restricted airspace.

The issue gained more serious attention after a 2017 New York Times report revealed that Pentagon files contained UFO footage recorded during military flights. Although there’s no evidence these phenomena are extraterrestrial or advanced hostile drones, the U.S. government now asks its military personnel not to hesitate in reporting such incidents, which could pose a potential threat to national security.

Recently, the Trump administration appointed a Scientific Council on UAP, headed by Harvard astronomer Avi Loeb, known for his provocative claims about alien spacecraft in the Solar System.

In Europe, the debate centers on possible risks to air traffic. According to Euronews, France is the only EU country with a dedicated, state-funded center for tracking and investigating UFOs: GEIPAN (Groupe d’Études et d’Informations sur les Phénomènes Aérospatiaux Non Identifiés), the Study and Information Group on Unidentified Aerospace Phenomena.

Since its founding in 1977, GEIPAN has reviewed more than 3,300 UAP cases, of which 106 have been classified as unexplained. Another 1,014 cases remain unresolved due to insufficient data.

On June 29, the French Parliament held a significant debate on UFOs, focusing on the work done by GEIPAN and the French Air and Space Force, as well as the possibility of cooperating with the U.S. to secure “answers from public authorities.” French lawmaker Arnaud Saint-Martin told Le Parisien that the goal is to move past sensationalism and fantasy and instead address, seriously and rationally, an issue that draws significant public interest.

Euronews maintains that the EU is watching UFOs, though it notes that despite repeated calls for a standard UAP reporting procedure, the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) said it already has a framework in place for reporting any incident that could affect aviation safety, including UAPs. EASA told Euronews that pilots and other aviation staff are encouraged to report anything they consider a potential safety risk, regardless of its nature, adding that for now it has found no evidence that UAP reports point to a systemic aviation safety issue requiring additional measures.

UFOs Over Mykonos and Cyprus

Euronews also spoke with European pilots who say they’ve encountered unexplained phenomena.

Christiaan van Heijst, 43, a Boeing 747 captain with more than 20 years of experience, described four incidents he witnessed between 2005 and 2010.

One happened late at night over Greece in 2005, most likely near the island of Mykonos. The Dutch pilot said that after a night landing, as they turned around on the runway, they saw a bright light in the sky at an extremely high altitude. It moved briefly, vanished, reappeared, covered roughly the same distance, and vanished again, about three times. He said that before it appeared, the light had been about twice as far away, then suddenly shot off at an instant, incredible speed with no acceleration, simply gaining speed instantly and disappearing from view. Van Heijst noted that that same night, the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt’s strike group was crossing the Mediterranean en route to the Persian Gulf, ahead of the second Gulf war, a detail that had appeared in the airspace closure notices (NOTAMs) among others; he said it isn’t known whether the events are connected.

A second incident over Cyprus was described by Rob Ackermans, a pilot for a Dutch airline who says he’s seen several UFOs. He said that in 2023, he and another pilot, along with four cabin crew members, were on a flight from the Middle East to the Netherlands. Starting around 19:30 UTC, they watched a strange phenomenon for more than two hours that struck them as truly remarkable, with all six crew members observing it from the cockpit. It began while they were south of Cyprus: on a bearing of exactly 300 degrees magnetic north, at an elevation angle of about 25 to 30 degrees, and at very high altitude, they saw a light suddenly flare brightly, then slowly fade. This kept happening more and more often, frequently with one or two additional lights that also flared and faded. He said the strangest part was that one of the three lights sometimes maneuvered around the others, resembling a chase, what air forces call dogfighting, after which two or all three would vanish again. They initially assumed it might be some military operation over the Balkans, but when they reached the Balkans themselves, they saw the same display still in the same direction, at the same angle, and at very high altitude. After around 21:30 UTC, the lights suddenly vanished at incredible speed and were never seen again. Ackermans added that the next day, one of his colleagues spotted the same phenomenon from his garden back home in the Netherlands.

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4 alien species have been pulled from crashed UFOs, ex-government researcher claims

The US has recovered four distinct species of extraterrestrial life from crashed UFOs, a former CIA-funded government researcher sensationally claimed this week.

Dr. Hal Puthoff, former Advanced Aerospace Weapon System Applications Program advisor and CIA-funded researcher, made the claim alongside “Age of Disclosure” director Dan Farrah on Steve Bartlett’s “The Diary of a CEO” podcast on Thursday.

“People who have been involved in recoveries have said there are at least four types. Four separate types,” the 89-year-old said. “Now I have not had direct access to that but I believe the people who I talked to — four separate types of life.”

The Stanford-trained quantum physicist did not detail the supposed alien species — but his longtime collaborator and former AAWSAP colleague Dr. Eric Davis claimed last year that Grays, Nordics, Insectoids, and Reptilians are the names of the biological lifeforms pulled from the wreckage of downed or crashed UFOs. 

Nordics are a race of highly-human-like creatures who, despite being from a far-flung planet, closely resemble people of northern Europe here on planet Earth.

Reptilians are scaley skinned lizard-like creatures with human limbs, long tails, who walk upright, experts in the field speculate.

Grays are small, massive-eyed, hairless creatures — classically depicted in films such as “Close Encounters of the Third Kind.”

Insectoids are bug-like humanoids, sometimes referred to as Mantids because they resemble a praying mantis, ufologists speculate.

Former Air Force Intelligence officer and UAP Task Force member David Grusch testified under oath in Congress in 2023 that the US was in possession of “non-human biologics” recovered from dozens of crashed UFOs.

Those claims were based on testimony from members of the supposed crash retrieval program which was detailed in Farah’s film “Age of Disclosure,” which premiered in March.

“I’ve talked off the record with some people who are involved in recoveries,” Farah told Bartlett on Thursday’s podcast, adding: “They would not go on camera to do interviews.

“One I thought was going to do an interview and then a couple days before sent me a message saying ‘After further consideration and long talks with my wife, I decided I’d be forfeiting my life if I participated in your interview,’” Farah said.

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A scientist who worked with the Pentagon's UFO program for decades says he has seen the evidence that the US is hiding the bodies of four different alien races that crashed on Earth.

Dr Eric Davis, an astrophysicist specializing in advanced aerospace propulsion, said he has personally seen classified photos and records from the US government which allegedly confirm the existence of extraterrestrial life found in wrecked UFOs.

This included at least four distinct species which the US now has stored in top-secret facilities, however, Davis noted that the locations of the corpses changed during the Obama Administration.

Davis specifically mentioned alien races known as the Grays, the Nordics, a race of insectoids which look like a human-sized praying mantis and a species called the Reptilians, due to their humanoid-lizard-like appearance.

'There's a minimum of four that we know of. I've seen the evidence, I've seen the records,' Davis told NewsNation's 'Katie Pavlich Tonight.'

He compared the Grays to the aliens seen in the science fiction film Close Encounters of the Third Kind, a small, gray-skinned humanoid with large heads and black eyes.

Meanwhile, the Nordics were described as looking like extremely tall Scandinavians with blonde hair and the most human-like features of all the alleged alien races.

Despite Davis's public claims and the ongoing rollout of previously classified files related to UFOs, both the White House and the military have maintained that no physical proof that alien life exists has ever been recovered.

An alleged alien race known as the Nordics is said to have human-like features

(Stock Image)

 that the photos and records his government access permitted him to see were still classified and there was no chance they would be released with UFO disclosure releases for decades.

'Those are still classified, and they are not subjec

During Monday's interview, Davis also claimedt to the Freedom of Information Act because they're probably classified for a 50 to 70-year period, 75-year period I believe,' Davis explained. 

Davis, who said he was no longer 'on the inside with the Department of War,' said he was not satisfied with the speed of the Pentagon's UFO documents team or the information that has been released in the first five batches, which started in May.

To this point, the thousands of photos, videos and decades-old files released by the Pentagon this year have yet to produce definitive proof that extraterrestrials exist or have visited Earth. 

Davis added that there were more images and videos capable of being released which provide proof of legitimate UFO encounters which also 'do not contain harmful information' that would reveal the secrets of how the US gathers its intelligence.

As for what the longtime astrophysicist has seen and knows, Davis publicly requested that President Trump grant him immunity so he could reveal the truth about these alien races without fear of prosecution for exposing classified government secrets.

In a video shared on X, Davis said: 'I investigated unidentified anomalous phenomenon (UAP) for 30 years. I’ve seen classified and proprietary defense intelligence industry evidence. Evidence that the American public and the world have a right to see.'

'Mr President, with your signature, you could waive the SF-312 NDA [non-disclosure agreement] to protect UAP whistleblowers like myself. I respectfully request that you take swift and decisive action as the nature of UAP should not be kept deeply classified,' he continued.

Descriptions from CIA reports and alleged UFO witnesses match descriptions of a claimed race of beings called 'the Grays,' the popular alien depiction in the mid-1960s

(Stock Image)

The reptilian theory, claiming shape-shifting reptilian aliens secretly control Earth, surged in popularity through conspiracy theorist David Icke in the late 20th century

(Stock Image)

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Davis claimed that all of the photos, reports and military records he saw documented incidents involving dead bodies pulled from crashed UFOs. He allegedly did not see  any information related to alien beings captured alive by the US military.

'I don't know what they eat. Most of them that I am aware were found dead. Although, I've heard that David Grusch had mentioned that there was one that he knew of that had been captured alive but I don't know anything else,' Davis explained.

Grusch has been one of the most outspoken government whistleblowers when it comes to UFOs and alien life.

The military veteran spent 14 years in the Air Force before working as an intelligence officer for the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), which builds and launches surveillance satellites for the Pentagon.

From 2019 to 2021, he represented NRO on the UAP Task Force, but eventually became a whistleblower after allegedly learning that elements of the US government had prevented Congressional oversight on matters related to extraterrestrials.

Grusch has also been calling for presidential immunity for all UFO whistleblowers so they can reveal what they allegedly saw while serving on classified projects tied to advanced propulsion research and national security.

The Trump Administration has released five batches of UFO files, including footage of a 'jellyfish' craft. One insider believes the government is only sharing 'bottom of the barrel stuff' with the public

Pictured: Dr Eric Davis, an astrophysicist specializing in advanced aerospace propulsion who allegedly saw classified files on crashed UFOs

Dr Davis, now a member of the Disclosure Foundation, a nonprofit organization focused on advancing public disclosure of UFOs, formerly worked as a consultant for the Pentagon's UFO program starting in 2007.

He has previously spoken about crashed alien ships and extraterrestrials recovered at a congressional hearing last year.

Davis's claims, which have yet to be proven or disclosed by the Pentagon, have been supported by fellow UFO researcher and former CIA scientist Dr Hal Puthoff.

Puthoff has publicly claimed that the US government was in possession of at least ten spacecraft which had crashed or been left behind on Earth over the last 80 years.

Davis has also claimed to have spoken with the commander of Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio, who allegedly confirmed that the debris from the Roswell UFO incident in 1947 was taken to the base shortly after the crash.

UFO Files Hearing LIVE | Ex-UFO Investigator Alleges US Recovered Multiple Alien Bodies | World News

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