Alien search theories and reactions to claims about extraterrestrial life | Backscroll

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Full auto-transcript: Imagine [snorts] taking a DNA test and finding out you're not from where you thought you were, right? Maybe you grew up thinking you were Italian, but most of your DNA comes back as French. It happens all the time. But now I want you to imagine you're not from the planet you thought you were from. Maybe already knew that. I know that sounds like science fiction, but the possibility is gaining a lot of traction in some UFO circles because on a recent podcast, science fiction writer and philosopher Jason Reza Georgiani says he was told about a secret CIA program by former US Army Sergeant Lynn Buchanan. And Buchanan seemingly claims that he's a psychic spy who worked for the government's remote viewing program during the Cold War and was approached by a group of aliens known as the Nordics who have been hiding out in plain sight living quietly in small American towns, at least they're hiding out for now. Because according to Georgiani, Buchanan claims a UAP researcher named Christopher Kit Green believes he may have found a way to identify these secret aliens by searching for a specific non-human or hybrid genetic marker inside DNA databases like Ancestry and 23andMe. And on the pie chart listing ethnicities, there's something sometimes called a wedge, it's called other, which means unknown unidentifiable. So, UFO theorists believe that could mean extraterrestrial. Now, to be clear, I get it. I know this all sounds unbelievable, right? And yes, extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence, but as new UAP files continue to be released by the Pentagon, is it fair to at least ask whether some of these things that we once laughed off maybe deserve some serious scientific scrutiny. You know I'm bringing in Avi Loeb, astrophysicist, Harvard professor, one of the leading voices pushing for a fact-based, evidence-first approach to the search for life beyond Earth. Avi, always good to see you. Happy to self Happy to separate fact from fiction. Um, is it a real thing? >> Well, thanks for having me. I don't think it's very likely to be a real thing. I mean, it's possible the CIA or anyone else might have been curious about this question, but there is no scientific basis to lend any credibility to this possibility because, first of all, you know, for biological beings to travel interstellar distances, it requires a very unusual genetic engineering cuz we know that, you know, these trips, even at the speed of light, would take tens of thousands of years. And, you know, they are very hazardous because of bombardment by cosmic rays. You know, humans cannot survive for more than a few years on Mars or >> I I hear that. I hear that. I guess the question is, is there is there a genetic marker that people you could search for potentially? >> Yeah, I mean, about the origin of our species, you know, of course, there could be paths that led to humans that are not fully recognized. That definitely is possible. And, you could have also markers within the DNA that indicate some effect of transfer of life from, let's say, Mars to Earth. What is called panspermia. You can imagine situations like that. But, uh you know, the DNA is not necessarily universal throughout the cosmos. You know, the kind of genetic code we find nowadays in in humans, you know, was very different if you go back a billion years on Earth or a few billion years. There weren't even cells. Eukaryotic genesis, you know, of cells in which the DNA is packaged, only came about 2 billion years ago on Earth. That was less than half the age of of Earth. So, imagining someone visiting us with similar DNA characteristics is extremely unlikely to be relevant because, you know, there is also the possibility of the helicity, the way that the molecules of the DNA are organized to be exactly opposite and then it would be catastrophic for us to even touch such beings. I I recommend not shaking the hand of an alien if you if you find one. >> I'll keep that in mind. I'll keep that in mind. Yeah. Well, so this whole Nordic thing, the Nordic supposedly looking like us, what do you what do you make about that? >> Well, yeah, there are Nordic people on Earth, right? So, >> [laughter] >> you know, obviously you can find them in crash sites of fighter jets, you know, in battlefields. So, there could be a program for retrieval and reverse engineering of materials from, you know, aircrafts that were manufactured by adversarial nations and some of them may be Nordic, some of them may be for another ethnic origin. So, the whole idea that there are four species of aliens visiting us, I think perhaps is a rumor that came out of retrieving pilots from crash sites that belong to different nations. You know, but I I think it's extremely unlikely that indeed we're dealing with being that somehow mingled with with humans and made babies out of that. That is >> Well, you know what it is, nobody trusts the government. So, this idea of oh, they're secretly looking through ancestry sites to try to map out if they're extraterrestrials, I think that's a part of this as well, right? Is the government being transparent? >> be that it may well be that someone government had the idea of checking. I mean, that's quite possible, but that idea itself is highly questionable scientifically speaking. So, I would say this person, whoever thought about the idea of checking the DNA, uh, is not very credible, uh, scientifically speaking. But, um, in general, there may well be evidence for uh, extraterrestrial materials, you know, and other things that the government holds, and they may be in corporations like Lockheed Martin, like uh, MITRE. Recently, Burchett uh, Representative Burchett was asking MITRE to uh, respond to a request. So, so I think yes, we should check what the government knows and learn as much as possible, and maybe help them uh, figure things out because apparently they're at a loss if they're asking for information of this nature. >> Well, something to think about. Avi Loeb, thank you so much. Again, separating fact from fiction, Avi. As I always appreciate it. Good seeing you. >> Thanks for having me. This is not new in the context of science and religion, you know, we, for example, now know, scientifically speaking, that the universe started in a big bang. We don't know what happened before that, and that is a, kind of theory that appeared in Genesis, uh, and has been the foundation for the Judeo-Christian religion in particular. Uh, and so I don't see necessarily a conflict between religious beliefs and science, as long as everyone agrees that we should attend to the evidence. That should guide us. Let's figure out what these things are, and my guess is that in situations where there is a lot of uncertainty, for example, if the US government cannot figure out what these objects are, then of course people have their own speculations or theories, or they connect it to some past traditional thoughts, and I have no issue with that, as long as everyone agrees that we should get more data and figure these things out. And, you know, at the end of the day, we might uh, recognize this uh, as something completely unexpected, but we might also figure it out. >> So, let me put this I hear you, right? And I go back to the idea, let's say he saw or heard something and it's his interpretation of it that it has a religious context and it's demons. But, I think at the very least, if we make this assumption in this theory, he may have saw or heard something that would suggest that whatever these beings or these phenomena are are evil, right? That seems to be the the very big narrative put out by pop culture. They're evil, they're evil. Is it Is it assumed too much that UAPs, UFOs, aliens are evil if we're putting them in the demon context? >> Yeah, I do think that's going too far because you know, I'm leading the Galileo Project. We built three observatories. We're looking up and at millions of objects using machine learning artificial intelligence algorithms to figure out if there are any outliers relative to the performance envelope of human-made technologies. And my thinking about it is not in the context of demons, but more in the context of aliens. And in that case, if we are seeing any extraterrestrial technologies, the way I think of them is the better angels of of our nature. You know, why not be optimistic cuz we can learn from new technologies. We only had science and technology for 100 years. And most stars formed billions of years before the sun. I should also mention that the latest interstellar visitor we had, three eye Atlas, you know, could have potentially released some probes or objects during its path. And in fact, in recent months, there was a report by the meteor society that indeed there is a surge in the number of meteors on Earth over the past few months in the first quarter of 2026. We should always, you know, look >> Do you think that might be caused by three eye three three eye Atlas? >> It's a a possibility that I discussed in an essay on medium.com. I calculated that an ejection speed of only less than a few kilometers per second, which is completely reasonable of objects. Even if it was a natural iceberg that fragmented let's say a year ago or a decade ago, there was a a cloud of debris around it, then some of those fragments could have hit the earth in recent months. That's that's completely reasonable in terms of the numbers. Uh the question of whether it's technological and release some probes, that's a completely separate question cuz there you can have the fragments guided by technology. Uh all I'm saying is we should be open-minded to the possibility that we're we're not at the top of the food chain within the Milky Way galaxy, that we can learn something from siblings of our family of intelligent civilizations. And of course, you know, you may ask, how is religion supposed to be affected uh by any finding? Yeah. Uh so, I had a visit to uh Harvard University, where I'm a professor, by a group of theologians led by the president of the Templeton Foundation, and they asked me, how would our religious beliefs uh be affected by finding extraterrestrials? And I said, "Look, I I have two daughters, and when one was born, it didn't take away any of the love that I have to the first one." And so, assuming that God is a parent that can attend to only one child is very limiting. >> Yeah. Yeah, that's that's a good way. That's a really good way to try to think about that, it makes sense. Because if we really do get more information, that may be ways people kind of process it and accept it. Avi Loeb, thank you for taking the time. Really appreciate it. By the scientist known as the world's chief alien hunter, Bill Diamond. He's the president and chief executive of SETI, the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence Institute based in California. Thank you so much for taking the time. Really appreciate it. So, you heard the president made waves when he said aliens were real. Something Okay, Greg you agree with, but you you're saying they don't look like what we think they look like. >> Well, I guess the first question is really whether or not they get a massage on their spacecraft. >> Wow. Look at you combining stories [laughter] in the way that I wasn't predicting. >> Yeah. And I I don't want to confuse the audience, but yes, um certainly there are a lot of questions that come up with respect to life beyond Earth and the first questions are, you know, what are we talking about? Are we talking about, you know, bacteria and microbes or are we talking about advanced technological species or something in between? And of course, if we begin talking about advanced species um and technological species, of course people are going to say, "Well, what might they look like?" And the honest answer is we don't know. And for anybody to assert that we have some idea or for anybody to assert that, "Well, they are probably like the popular images that we see of tall, spindly creatures with big eyes and and green skin." We we have no idea. I think what we do recognize, because we see this on Earth, that life on Earth is shaped by its environment, by the environmental conditions, by the processes of evolution. And we see on Earth this extraordinary diversity of life forms from the oceans to the skies to the land animals. And um you know, you you can imagine thinking about jellyfish and crayfish and lobsters and chimpanzees and orangutans and humans and dinosaurs, we've got extraordinary variety of species and their appearance here. So, it's hard for us to >> So, so um assert >> So, so is there something you can rule out? Are you saying, "Hey, listen, it's possible they could look like jellyfish UFOs?" I mean, is are you saying there's something it's absolutely can't look they can't look like or they're more likely they could look like? >> So, so it's interesting. Well, what are what are the what are the mechanisms, if you will, that shape how we look like? Um we do have a lot of common with a lot of other species on Earth. We have a skeletal system, which provides a physical frame on which our bodies are constructed, our central nervous systems are embedded. We have a binocular vision, we have stereo hearing, we have sensory perception. These are all survival mechanisms. They turn out to be rather important. And therefore, they become common elements across species. Now, would things like bipedal mobility, that walking vertically on two legs, um having, you know, optical system, vision system of stereo vision, and or bi binocular vision, stereo hearing, and things like this become I think it's fair to say that whatever survival mechanisms and evolutionary forces might exist on another world that would shape the way biology evolves, that's what's going to matter. >> While while we're talking about common myths or misconceptions, how would they make contact with us? I mean, are they traveling you think from planet to planet? What would be your theory there? How would they make contact? >> Yeah, well, that's a that's a great question. So, first of all, when we talk about planet to planet, planet to planet in our solar system means going from Earth to Mars or Mars, you know, to Venus or Earth to Saturn. When we're talking about advanced alien technologies, first of all, we know that in our own solar system, there are no advanced civilizations with, you know, interplanetary transportation technologies like we have. But, what we're talking about really is interstellar. Interstellar distances are extraordinarily unimaginably large when we start thinking about our closest neighbor star, which is Alpha Centauri at 4.2 light years from Earth, the fastest spacecraft we've ever built, which is New Horizons, fasting traveling faster than a bullet or a missile or a rocket, um it would take 80,000 years for the New Horizons spacecraft to make it to Alpha Centauri, our closest neighbor. So, the the distances are extraordinarily and incomprehensibly large, and we don't yet understand, nor can we comprehend what kind of technologies would be required to um transport those across those distances, even non-biological probes, which would be frankly more likely than biological um beings. >> Well, listen, when you talk about, you know, interstellar and you talk about it being so large and that we are not able to comprehend it, I saw the movie. I saw Interstellar. I get [laughter] it. Okay, I okay, I give a little more credit for me. Um no, but I listen. Really, really appreciate it, Bill Diamond. Interesting conversation. We'd love to have you back. Thanks so much for taking the time. >> You bet. Great to be here. Thanks a lot. >> We are continuing to keep a close eye on 3I Atlas, a Manhattan-sized interstellar object believed to be a comet, getting closer and closer to Earth. Take a look at the new images of the object appearing to have lost its tail. Some scientists now theorizing that this is a new indicator that 3I Atlas is no comet, but potentially an alien craft. Well, just under 6 weeks from now, it's set to get close to our planet, relatively speaking. And as several scramble for more answers, theoretical physicist and Harvard Professor Avi Loeb called on NASA to release its new images of 3I Atlas. He shared this with us last week. >> The best image was taken on October 2nd by the HiRISE camera on board the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, and unfortunately, the argument is because of the government shutdown, this data was never released. It doesn't make much sense for the the politics of the day to sabotage the progress of science. >> So, what does this mean for all of us here on Earth? To help get some answers and some perspective, we are joined by world-renowned physicist Dr. Michio Kaku. He's co-founder of the string field theory, author of Quantum Supremacy, How the Quantum Computer Revolution Will Change Everything. Dr. Kaku, always a pleasure to see you. Thank you so much for being here. And and let's jump right into this. I want to start with the new images of 35 Atlas, not from our own NASA. We are still waiting on those. These ones are out of Spain. Some are noting it looks like this object has lost its tail after passing the sun. What's your take here? And if there's no tail, does that mean this is indeed not a comet? >> Well, I have my own point of view on this. And that is that this is a very old object, perhaps 7 billion years old. And in 7 billion years, there's been a plenty of time to accumulate garbage. That's why, for example, the nickel content of the comet is off scale. Its chemical composition is not what an ordinary comet should be. And that I think is because over 7 billion years, it's had plenty of time to accumulate different gases, different elements, different kinds of environments that it goes into. And I think that explains a lot of the mystery behind behind the comet. And everyone's talking about it. I was on the airplane the other day and overheard some people talking over my shoulder, and sure enough, they were talking about the comet, too. >> Did you did you pop your head over the seat and say, "Hi. I'm I'm Dr. Michio Kaku, one of the foremost experts on this, and this is my opinion." >> No, I did not say that, but I would gladly have given them my opinion. >> Yeah. >> It is 7 billion-year-old comet. And that's why it's different. It's different from other comets. Comets in our solar system, for example, are maybe only 3 to 4 billion years old. This one is a very old plan uh comet. And as a consequence, it has plenty of time to accumulate garbage. And that's one of the characteristics of this comet. It has uh nickel, iron uh content, which is different from the average comet. >> You know, we are still waiting on an updated image of this object from NASA. We see Representative Anna Paulina Luna sharing this week that it will not be shared until the government is reopened. Do you make anything of this? Is NASA hiding something here? >> Sounds like it, right? I mean, what have they got to lose? I mean, it's only a sheet of paper. I mean, it's not like a top secret thing you put in a safe. It's just a sheet of paper. So, what have they got to lose by by announcing that they have this information? Cuz it it fosters more and more speculation. And at a certain point, it becomes counterproductive. >> Well, you you've been closely monitoring through I Atlas for months now. I'm tracking these anomalies, some bizarre behavior. What are the odds that we're dealing with something not just old, but something that's extraterrestrial in nature? >> I think it's non-zero, but it's very small. >> Mhm. >> So far, it looks like an ordinary comet. It behaves like an ordinary comet. And except for these a few anomalies, it it does act like an ordinary comet. And so, I think it's really pointless to preserve secrets. To keep things away from the American public. The public want to know. >> Avi Loeb, meanwhile, out of Harvard believes that 3 I Atlas may be revving its engine. Any thoughts on that? >> Well, there's a possibility. You have to put probabilities with regards to all the speculation. Uh Avi Loeb was very careful later on to say that the probability of his speculations are quite low. And so, we have to put this into perspective that these are guesses and as a consequence, they're not 100%. >> 3I Atlas has been added to the International Asteroid Warning Network to prepare Earth for a potential threat from beyond. Uh we understand the object is is going to get as close as 167 million miles away from Earth by December 19th. That is just weeks from now. Is there any reason for us to be concerned? >> Personally, I don't think so. Uh I think it's quite a distance away. Uh we're not going to be invaded by aliens from a Hollywood movie set. So, I think that it's uh it's harmless. It's so far away that we're not going to be endangered. >> Yeah, uh Professor Avi Loeb has really been out in front of all of this uh theorizing this could be extraterrestrial in nature. Perhaps this is a craft coming doing some reconnaissance, just coming to check us out. What is your message to him? What do you have to say about his theories? >> Well, speculation is fine, but you have to quantify it. You have to say that what is the level of confidence on the speculation? Is it 100%? Is it 1%? Otherwise, you panic the public. And the public wants to know the truth. Cuz afterwards, if it turns out it was a false alarm, then there's going to be a public backlash. People are going to say, "What? We wasted all our efforts and there was no danger at all?" So, I think when you mention the dangers, you have to quantify it to say how realistic is this estimate. >> I know that you warned if 3I Atlas picks up extra energy as it whips around the sun, that would mean in no uncertain terms that some intelligence is guiding it. Is there any indication some intelligence may be guiding this? >> So far no. However, there's been some speculation that it seems to be speeding up a little bit as it goes around the sun. >> That's kind of That's kind of concerning. I mean, you the quote was that that intelligence would be there if it sped up around the sun, no? And it did. >> To slight degree, right? And however, there there are reasons why it could happen. For example, maybe the comet broke a piece of it off. Maybe maybe it was outgassing of the comet. There could be reasons that explain why there's a sudden spurt in velocity. So, that that's not a smoking gun. That doesn't nail it to the wall. It's just one condition that we would use to guide us into thinking that perhaps there's intelligent life there, but it's not definitive. >> Yeah, what is the next thing that you are watching out for most closely then? What would be the smoking gun nail it to the wall other than of course it just landing. And then like you said, uh some some creatures crawling out from a Hollywood set. >> Yeah, well, I think if ET phones home, that would clinch it right there. >> Is there anything Is there anything more scientific than that that you'll be watching out for next in its trajectory? >> Well, if they try to communicate with us, you know, it's some kind of Morse code, some kind of language that we would understand, some mathematical language for example, that would clinch it. Rather than getting static on a radio, getting getting an alien civilization share their knowledge with us, that would nail it to the wall. >> Yeah, one more question on this before we move to AI cuz I understand there was a deep fake that you've been battling recently and I and I want to hear more about that. Tell us what we need to know about this. It seems like there is a lot of speculation. It sounds like your message to the public is that they shouldn't be too concerned about this. >> Well, you can just Google it. When you Google the the name of the comet, there I am. I'm on several networks talking nonsense. And realize that it's very easy to forge these documents. >> Oh, so we're talking about deep fakes now. Okay, so let's let's let's talk about this Dr. Kaku. You yourself have been putting out warnings because deep fakes are are happening of you. I believe that we might have some of them to show impersonating you AI generating this misleading the public with false claims. And you say it's not just deep fakes that are out there right now. Countries are racing towards quantum computers and that is the real risk going forward. Can you tell me more about that? >> Yeah, it turns out that the PC that you have in the front of you is digital. It computes with zeros and ones, zeros and ones. Quantum computers are way ahead of that. They compute with any number between zero and one. And how many numbers are there between zero and one? Infinite number. And so we see the power of a quantum computer that can break into any known digital computer. So who's worried about this? The CIA, the FBI, all intelligence agencies are on the alert. Because when it happens 5, 10, 15 years from now, watch out. >> Yeah, Dr. Kaku, does that mean that this could break into nuclear codes? >> In principle, yes. Anything that is digital can be broken. Because digital codes work with zeros and ones, zeros and ones. While quantum computers work with everything in between zero and one. And how many numbers are there between zero and one? >> You're telling [clears throat] me infinite. >> [laughter] >> Dr. Michio Kaku, I always appreciate you so much. This is a fascinating topic. I'm being told we're out of time, but thank you so much. Have a great evening. >> My pleasure. >> Thank you for watching. Subscribe below and download our NewsNation app right now on your phone and you will get fact-based, unbiased news for all Americans.