EXOBIOLOGICAL LIFE FORMS:

David Calvert It can be truly said that nature abhors a vacuum. Our world teems with life of every description, ranging from the mundane to the downright outlandish. It would appear that every niche of our planet is populated with life, in one form or another. Even the most hostile and extreme environments are hosts to microbial life forms know as extremophiles.

Cyanobacteria
Image by David Patterson.

One such species is the hyperthermophiles. They can be found thriving in temperatures exceeding 80 C, whilst at the other end of the spectrum can be found the psychrophile that exists at 15 C or lower. Then there are the toxitolerants that can exist in pools of benzene and on nuclear waste. Some, like the anaerobe, can even survive in the absence of oxygen, and the list goes on. It would appear that the blue planet we call Earth is a veritable zoo on which multitudinous life forms have taken hold. But what of exobiological life forms? Does our universe teem with life as some scientists have theorised? Moreover, have some of those entities evolved into sentient creatures like man? Panspermia Hypothesis Assuming that life exists throughout the universe begs the question as to how these planets were seeded. We know that extremophile bacteria can survive even the harshest of

environments, even that of outer space. The theory suggests that the transport system for these possibly dormant bacteria may well be meteoroids, asteroids, and even comets. Having been trapped in these bodies they are carried through the universe until colliding with planets etc. If the conditions on the planet are ideal the bacteria are activated and the evolutionary process begins. Since the discovery of Martian meteorites on Earth we now know for certain that interplanetary transfer of material takes place. Following in the wake of new scientific discoveries, the Panspermia Theory is now considered a credible hypothesis by the scientific community who had once labelled it ridiculous. Through the evolutionary process these bacteria slowly evolve into various species, over a period of aeons. Each assumes a particular niche on its home world. Eventually, one of those species reaches a point where it becomes the dominant life form. As on Earth, intelligence arises and they go through their equivalent of the Stone Age, Bronze Age etc until they reach a level of technological sophistication that allows them to travel beyond the confines of their world. But what might these creatures look like? We humans are the product of our environment. Like us they would be shaped according to gravitational effects, solar influences, and atmospheric conditions etc. It is not unreasonable to think that if they had a 20,000 year evolutionary head start on humanity, and survived selfannihilation, they might eventually travel beyond the confines of their solar system and out into interstellar space. SETI scientist Frank Drake formulated an equation as to how much intelligence there may be in the universe. He came up with a disturbingly high number. For the sake of argument lets assume there are one thousand worlds in our galaxy alone that have achieved this level of sophistication, each with a substantial head start on us as regards interstellar flight at faster than light speeds. Lets further assume that only a handful of extraterrestrial species then stumble upon our world and decide to investigate. They study our social structures, our technological achievements, our religions, fauna and flora, among other things. Inevitably, during this process, humankind becomes aware of their presence. Some encounters appear so bizarre and outlandish that their stories are summarily dismissed as mental aberrations, hoaxes or just downright lies. Unquestionably, a fair amount of encounters fall under such categories. However, a small percentage of these are not so easily dismissed.

ALIEN TYPES.
THE GREYS.

The most commonly reported alien is the infamous Grey, so called because of its skin colouration. These are said to be small in stature and devoid of external human organs. Most notable are their large, opaque eyes, bulbous heads, and lack of genitalia. From the foregoing features we can extrapolate, to a minor extent, what their home world might look like. The large eyes, like those of an owl, would seem to indicate that it has a low light environment, which could also account for their grey skin. The slender build is indicative of a low gravity world, possibly smaller than that of the Earth. Some ufologists have theorised that these creatures may not be the dominant species of their world, but rather clones created by the dominant species - as evidenced by their lack of sexual organs. These entities and their creators are said to come from the Pleiades star system, such as the Nordic aliens. The Betty and Barney Hill abduction, on the night of 19 September 1961, is believed to be the first recorded description of the Greys. However, this is not strictly true. They first appeared in an article, Man of the Year Million (1893), by renowned science-fiction writer H G Wells, predating the Hills encounter by some 68 years. Remarkably similar entities also appear in his novels First Men in the Moon (1901), and The War of the Worlds (1898). Might this imply a cultural, rather than cosmological, link for the ubiquitous Greys? NORDICS
Artistic impression of male Nordic alien

One of the earliest reports of a Nordic alien came from that of the now largely discredited George Adamski on 20 November 1952. The event was said to have taken place in the Mojave Desert, Arizona, USA. The being told Adamski his name was Orthon, and that he came from the planet Venus. If there ever was such an entity, he certainly didnt originate from Venus. The surface temperature of Venus is high enough to melt lead and its atmospheric pressure is 94.5 times higher than Earths. Without a heavily pressurised suit Orthon would have exploded the moment he set foot on Earth. His physiology, and the fact he was not wearing any kind of breathing apparatus, would indicate that he would have come from a world very similar to that of our own, with atmospheric gases roughly comprising of 78.08% nitrogen, 20.95% oxygen, 0.93% argon, 0.038% carbon dioxide, and traces of hydrogen, helium and other noble gases. It could well be that Orthon lied in order to hide the true origins of his species. Suggested Place of Origin. Billy Meier, a Swiss citizen, claimed he first made contact with Nordic aliens in 1942 at the age of five, but it wasnt until 1975 that his first official contact with them took place. From these contacts he learned that the Nordics were from the star system Plejares, which supposedly lies beyond the Pleiades, some 420 light years from Earth in the constellation of Taurus. They further informed him that their home planet was called Erra - just one of ten planets that circle their sun.

Physical Characteristics The term Nordic is applied to this species because of their Scandinavian appearance. They are incredibly human-like, with light blond or white hair and pale white skin. They are said to possess remarkable pale blue eyes but, as in the human species, there are differences in their colouration and shape. They are sometimes reported as having pink, red, yellow, green or violet eyes. In some cases they were reported as having eyes reminiscent of the Greys - large and slanted. Eye colour is a polygenic phenotypic character. It is determined by the amount and type of pigments in the iris. Red and violet eyes occur in people with severe forms of albinism, owing to the extremely low quantities of melanin, allowing the blood vessels to show through. True violet coloured eyes only occur due to albinism. Coupled with the pale white skin and white hair, this would suggest that these alleged entities might suffer from a form of albinism. Although extremely human-like in appearance, there are said to be subtle biological differences between Nordics and humans, the most paradoxical of them being their skin pigmentation. Their world is supposed to be hot and dry, so one might expect -from an evolutionary standpoint - that the skin tone should be much darker to protect them from folate depletion created by exposure to strong sunlight. Any gene variations that result in lighter skin wouldnt survive under such conditions. If their colouration is due to some form of albinism, then it is one that appears to have affect a large proportion of their species. Further biological differences include: Larger lung capacity (due to lower oxygen levels on their home world), copper-based blood to carry oxygen more efficiently, longer craniums, skin allows moisture to be drawn from the air, the heart is situated in the area where the human liver is and beats at around 242 beats per minute, average blood pressure is 80 systolic and 40 diastolic, extremely dilated blood vessels, blood cells are biconvex, they do not possess a pineal gland, their method of communication takes the form of telepathy, and their average life span is said to be 700 years.

THE TAILLESS REPTOID

The earliest modern reference to reptoids comes from a Los Angeles news story from January 29, 1934, though the credibility of their discoverer, geophysical mining engineer G Warren Shufelt leaves a lot to be desired. Since their emergence in in 1934 reptoids have now found prominence through the controversial works of David Icke et al. Assuming that these creatures are real, where might they have come from? Lets take a close look at their physiology. Physical Characteristics The tailless reptoid is anywhere from 5 - 12ft in height and has a muscular, lean and scaled body. There is some differentiation in scale colouration. They have long arms, ending in hands with three long fingers with opposable thumbs. Each foot has three toes and a recessed fourth one towards the back of the ankle. Each toe contains a short, blunted, claw. That they have not teats or navel would suggest they are oviparous reptiles, and do not give birth to live young. Their mouths are wide and lipless, so formulating words that we could understand would be an impossibility. They also appear to have differentiated types of dentition, including canines. This differentiation is also noticeable in their eyes. Some have large black eyes with vertical slit pupils, whilst others possess white eyes with vertical, flame coloured, slit pupils. There is a minor tapering to the head, with two bony ridges continuing from the brow towards the back of the head. The nose is small and flattened, comprising of two small nasal cavities that slant upwards in a V formation. There are holes on either side of the head. Unlike humans their ears have no fleshy folds connected to them. The male reptoids genitalia consist of a penis hidden within a vertical slit at the base of the torso. In contrast to humans, however, they dont appear to have a soft-sacked scrotum - only a rigid muscular protuberance from the base of the penis to the underside of the torso. HOME WORLD A pattern seems to be emerging regarding alien encounters, in that the greater majority of these extraterrestrial biological entities (EBEs) have no apparent need for any kind of breathing apparatus when visiting our world. This would suggest that their home worlds

must have remarkably similar gaseous atmospheres to that of Earth. It has been claimed that the reptoids live in the bowels of the earth which would imply that they have evolved into a warm-blooded species or that thermoregulatory adaptations within their bodies allow them to maintain their core temperatures. Whatever the case, it would appear, yet again, that their home world might well be remarkably similar to that of Earth. The reptoid species are divided into four types. Reptilian-Humanoids (as above and the most commonly reported). The Winged Draco Reptoids The Draco Prime Reptoids The Reptilian - Grey Crossbreeds. THE CHUPACABRAS

Originally, this creature was known as El Vampiro de Moca as some of the first killings were reported in the small town of Moca, in the Dominican Republic, 1992. Then, some three years later, accounts of it surfaced in Puerto Rica, then subsequently in Central and North American regions of Mexico and the United States. They have also been witnessed in Maine and as far south as Chile. The island of Puerto Rica became a major region for UFO sightings, so it wasnt long before the two phenomena were linked. The given name for this entity is derived from the Spanish words chupar to suck and cabra goat, due to the entitys reported predilection for attacking and drinking the blood of livestock, particularly goats.

They are commonly described as reptile-like beings, with an approximate height of three to four feet. Their stance is said to be like that of a kangaroo, with a hopping, bipedal motion. There appears to be two varieties of this entity. One is said to have a panther-like face, with large fangs and forked tongue. When it becomes alarmed it is reported to give off a sulphuric stench and hisses and/or screeches. One story of a Chupacabra surfaced on January 20th 1996 in Varghina, Brazil. It was reported that the entity gave of a buzzing sound as it was carried off. There are also reports of them leaving a slimy residue on the bodies of their victims. Like the Greys, they have large eyes, although in this instance they are red. Clearly, these supposed EBEs are predatory by nature and kill their prey by draining them of blood through their necks or chests, a trait know as hematophagy and which is found in three bat species on Earth. Listed among some of the chupacabras prey are, goats, horses, dogs, mice, sheep, and cattle. Considering their diminutive stature, begs the question as to how they are capable of bringing down larger prey, such as cattle and horses. Perhaps, like the vampire bat, they anaesthetise their victims before injecting their saliva into the animals bloodstreams. Anticoagulants then inhibit blood clotting and compounds prevent the constriction of blood vessels near the wound. Unlike vampire bats, however, these creatures appear to have a voracious appetite, draining their victims of every last drop of blood to the point of death. Another commonality is that they also seem to be nocturnal predators. To this writers knowledge these entities have never been seen on board or in close proximity to UFOs and have never been described as wearing clothing or in possession of any form of technology whatsoever, signifying that they are not an advanced species. Some ufologists have conjectured that they may have been brought here by an intelligent extraterrestrial life form and have escaped their captivity or been released into our environment by them. Others still, that they are the product of a genetic engineering experiment by the military. Whatever the truth of their origins may be you can be certain that we have not heard the last of these elusive creatures. We look at our own planet and marvel at its complexity, variety and abundance of life found thereon. With each new discovery human knowledge grows exponentially. The current total of known species on our world amounts to a staggering 7,227,130. This number does not include animals such as sheep, goats, camels or single-celled organisms such as bacteria. Even now we are discovering hitherto unknown life forms and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future. It has been estimated that there are approximately 5,523,300 species yet to be discovered. With each new finding we become increasingly enriched by the scientific advancements that develop from the study of such discoveries. Old paradigms inevitably collapse under the pressure of our ever increasing knowledge and understanding and though we no longer consider ourselves to be at the centre of the universe we stubbornly adhere to the outmoded idea that we are alone in the universe. Consider the advancements to medicine from the study of plants, of how our

understanding of the atom changed our world forever, of how alchemy evolved into the science of chemistry and astrology into astronomy. These advancements were necessary to our evolution as a species. We stand at a crossroad, uncertain as to which path to take regarding the existence of exobiological life. Choose the wrong path and we consign ourselves to being nothing more than a footnote of universal history.