A heated debate has erupted in the United States over an alleged covert intelligence operation aimed at detecting extraterrestrial DNA in the databases of popular genetic services such as 23andMe and Ancestry.
Information about secret CIA program aimed at searching the databases of genetic services Ancestry and 23andMe for individuals carrying "alien DNA" is circulating widely in the American media. This was first reported by writer Jason Jorjani on a podcast. The topic subsequently received widespread coverage in the press and on television.
According to the source, intelligence agencies are attempting to detect members of an extraterrestrial race presumably living among humans. Jorjani cites former military officer Lin Buchanan, who claims to have participated in secret intelligence programs. Buchanan, in turn, described the methods used by CIA analyst Christopher Greene, which allegedly allow him to access information from genetic companies.
Despite the seemingly fantastical nature of the story, renowned scientists have also joined the discussion. For example, Avi Loeb, a Harvard University professor and director of the Galileo project, believes that such research could be of significant scientific interest, even to the point of confirming the panspermia hypothesis. He suggested that DNA may contain markers indicating the transfer of primitive life forms from outer space. However, the scientist is skeptical of the idea of interstellar travel by biological beings in their current form.
A Russian geneticist, who wished to remain anonymous, noted that intelligence agencies have previously used genetic research data for their own purposes. He emphasized that access to genetic service databases, despite their primary purpose, could be of interest to intelligence agencies. The topic of mysterious genes with an unknown source periodically arises in the scientific community. In 2025, Max Rempel presented a study that identified unexplained sequences in the genomes of several families. However, these results were considered preliminary.
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