The Sirius documentary was finally released and the question as to whether the Atacama humanoid is an extraterrestrial has been resolved, at least according to the scientist who analyzed the DNA, and the results are that he is human. However, the mystery doesn’t end there. Although, it is not an extraterrestrial, their findings show it may have been a 6-inch Chilean human that survived for 6 to 8 years.

These findings may not be the “potentially profound and historical announcement” that many were hoping for. However, no one can argue that a promise the film did make good on was the high level of credibility of the scientists involved with the study.

The lead scientist is Dr. Garry Nolan, a professor of microbiology and immunology at Stanford University’s School of Medicine and the director of Stanford’s Proteomics Center. In the film, Nolan says of the DNS results, “The sequence that we got from the mitochondria [energy factories of cells] tells us with extremely high confidence that the mother was an indigenous Indian from the Chilean area.”

The film ended asking the question whether there still could be a chance the Atacama humanoid, nicknamed ‘Ata,’ was extraterrestrial. In an email response to my question if there are any doubts in his mind, Nolan responded, “The DNA says human. If someone wants to suggest a way for a non-terrestrial to have the same DNA sequence (nucleotide for nucleotide) as a human, then I think everyone would be interested in their ideas.”

Given its size, the next question would be if Ata is a human fetus. In an earlier study, Dr. Francisco Etxeberria Gabilondo, a professor of Legal and Forensic Medicine in the Basque Country University, had concluded that Ata was “without any shadow of doubt, a completely normal mummified fetus.”

Dr. Nolan says, “As to it being a fetus, I would trust the examination done by my colleague, a known expert in pediatric bone disorders, who came to the surprising conclusion that it was 6-8 years old.”

Although, this claim is astounding, the colleague Nolan is referring to is someone whose opinion should not be taken lightly. He is Dr. Ralph Lachman, Co-Founder and Co-Director of the International Skeletal Dysplasia Registry at Cedars-Sinai. He is also the author of the textbook, Radiology Of Syndromes, Metabolic Disorders And Skeletal Dysplasias, a book referenced by students and practitioners. Skeletal dysplasia is a condition that can cause abnormal bone development, including variations in size and shape.

In his response to the examination of Ata’s radiographic images, Lachman wrote to Nolan:

I have examined in the course of my career many skeletal and other pediatric bone anomalies and dysmorphias. This specimen does not fall under any known, to me, class of disorders or syndromes… there is no known form of dwarfism that accounts for the anomalies seen in this specimen. Most interestingly, based on knee epiphyseal standards, the specimen appears to be 6-8 years old. While there remains a possibility this latter result is due to some form of unknown progeria (rapid aging syndrome), in my opinion this is a low probability.

Nolan stresses that Lachman’s examination was no cursory examination, and they went over the radiographs for hours. “But while it might be better evidence than size alone,” Nolan continued, “additional evidence would be supportive. In scientific parlance, the evidence is contradictory, so additional ‘tie breaking’ or ‘trumping’ evidence is needed.”

Nolan plans to continue research on Ata’s anomalous features. He says, “Right now I am looking into independent techniques that might be able to cross-verify the age. I have some ideas, but I would have to develop some new techniques to test it.”

Nolan’s last statement in the documentary was that he wanted to say more, but couldn’t. I asked him about this statement, and he clarified, “I simply wanted to avoid speculation. It was not that I had some secret data I wanted to share but could not.”

Although Ata has not turned out to be extraterrestrial, the process of working on the documentary has made Nolan more open to the UFO mystery. He says, “The people I’ve come to meet through this process have convinced me thoroughly the observed phenomena around the planet should not be ignored. That has been an awakening for me.”

UPDATE: Ripley’s Believe It or Not! had their own Atacama humanoid (Video)

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