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Mysterious underwater 'UFO base' believed to be alien hub spotted off Southern California coast

Mysterious underwater 'UFO base' believed to be alien hub spotted off Southern California coast

Hindustan Times26-04-2025
A mysterious underwater formation known as Sycamore Knoll has once again captured public attention, following fresh speculation over its possible extraterrestrial origins. Located approximately 6.6 miles off the coast of Malibu, Southern California, the formation has long intrigued scientists—and now conspiracy theorists too. According to a report by the Daily Mail, the structure appears as a raised bump on the ocean floor with a flat, table-like top. It lies about 2,000 feet below the surface at coordinates 34° 1'23.31″N 118° 59'45.64″W.
(Also read: Declassified CIA document says 'aliens' turned 23 soldiers to stone in otherworldly encounter)
According to outlet, Google Earth imagery from 2014 showed detailed views of Sycamore Knoll, sparking a wave of public interest. However, the formation appears to have been removed or blurred on the platform as of 2025, further fuelling the mystery. Some users argue that the blur is simply due to incomplete data.
One Redditor remarked on a post about Sycamore Knoll, 'Some refer to it as an anomaly while others believe it is an alien base. It's believed to be between two-and-a-half and three miles wide.'
Sycamore Knoll first gained mainstream attention in 2014 when it featured on the Fade to Black podcast with host Jimmy Church, who described it as possibly 'the biggest centre of UFO activity since Roswell," reported the outlet.
Adding fuel to the theories, Congressman Tim Burchett recently claimed an unnamed admiral told him of an underwater UFO 'as large as a football field, moving at hundreds of miles per hour.'
As per the outlet, one California resident reported seeing a glowing structure above the site: 'It looked like a massive, cathedral-shaped structure — multiple pointed edges all glowing brilliantly white, heading straight into the ocean. There was no splash, no sound... just a flash, and it was gone.'
The renewed focus on Sycamore Knoll coincides with a new release by Jeremy Corbell, a filmmaker and investigative journalist known for covering military-documented UFOs, as per the outlet. He recently shared new video footage taken aboard the USS Jackson in 2023, which shows what he described as a 'self-luminous, wingless, tailless' craft emerging from the Pacific Ocean.
(Also read: Mysterious triangle tower spotted on Google Earth at Area 51 sparks wild alien theories)
As per the outlet, Corbell said the object resembles those seen in the famous 2004 Nimitz and 2019 Navy UAP encounters, all within Warning Area 291, the same region where Sycamore Knoll sits. 'This is not a one-off; these intelligently controlled craft have been appearing for decades,' Corbell said.
A Navy CIC operator reportedly tracked the 2023 object using thermal targeting systems, observing four UAPs that executed a coordinated manoeuvre before vanishing—no visible propulsion, just raw speed and synchronicity.
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How an India-US spy mission lost a nuclear device in the Himalayas
How an India-US spy mission lost a nuclear device in the Himalayas

India Today

time4 days ago

  • India Today

How an India-US spy mission lost a nuclear device in the Himalayas

In February 2021, devastating flash floods struck Uttarakhand, killing around 80 people, leaving 124 missing, and completely wiping out two hydropower projects. A theory resurfaced that a lost nuclear-powered surveillance device, abandoned at 25,000 feet in the Himalayas in 1965 during a joint US-India expedition to Nanda Devi, might have contributed to the disaster by melting snow and triggering avalanches. But that, thankfully, was not the investigations identified a different cause: a massive rock and ice avalanche, triggered by the collapse of a hanging glacier near Ronti Peak. The sheer force of the falling mass generated enough heat and momentum to release a deadly surge of water, debris, and silt down the Rishiganga and Dhauliganga rivers, resulting in the sudden catastrophic lost nuclear device from the Nanda Devi Plutonium Mission has returned to public discourse with every natural calamity in Uttarakhand, be it the 2021 disaster or the 2018 cloudburst, or the more recent incident of Joshimath's subsidence. The device was reportedly a listening device to keep tabs on China's nuclear programme being installed in the high Himalayas by India and the US. It was a covert operation of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) of the US and the Intelligence Bureau (IB) of India, according to also a theory that the device, which was lost in a blizzard in 1965, was later retrieved by India for reverse-engineering decades later in 2025, nuclear anxieties are surging once again. First, a radiation scare in Pakistan's Kirana Hills, then missile strikes on Iran's nuclear sites, brought back anxieties about the risks of nuclear May, reports of a radiation leak at Pakistan's Kirana Hills, a suspected nuclear storage site, sparked concern, but the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) confirmed no radiation leak had occurred. Subsequently, US missile strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities at Fordo, Isfahan, and Natanz in June raised fears of radiological leaks, though there was no evidence of story of the long-buried 1965 plutonium mission to Nanda Devi has regained relevance and interest against this it's an opportune moment to revisit why India partnered with the CIA during the Cold War; why a nuclear-powered surveillance device was carried into the icy heights of the Himalayas; how the CIA and India's Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) collaborated and tried to deploy the thermonuclear generator device, codenamed "Guru Rinpoche", there; how it got lost, and why, even today, that lost device continues to cast a radioactive shadow over the to the mystery, a year later, when a recovery team went back to locate the device, they found it had vanished from the EVEREST TRIUMPH AND BACKDOOR CIA TIESThe story began not with espionage, but with May 1965, a team of Indian mountaineers, led by Navy officer Captain Mohan Singh Kohli, became the first Indian team to successfully scale Mount who had been inducted into the ITBP for his mountaineering skills, returned home a hero. In June, the team led by Kohli was welcomed in New Delhi by ministers, military brass, and intelligence officers."Immediately after the return of the 1965 Indian Everest Expedition to New Delhi on 23 June, I was asked to lead a covert Himalayan expedition to Nanda Devi involving leading mountaineers, intelligence officials, nuclear scientists and daredevil pilots, drawn from both the USA and India," Mohan Singh Kohli noted in his 2003 book, 'Sherpas, the Himalayan Legends'. Captain Mohan Singh Kohli (retd) (L), a distinguished officer of the Indian Navy and a renowned mountaineer, led India's first Indian Everest Expedition in 1965. The summit saw nine climbers conquer the summit, setting a world record that remained unbeaten for 13 years. (Images: PIB/IndiaPost) advertisementOne among them was Balbir Singh, a senior intelligence official, who quietly pulled Kohli aside and introduced him to RN Kao, then a low-profile officer but a razor-sharp chief of the Aviation Research Centre (ARC), the elite wing under India's Intelligence Bureau (IB).Kao, who would go on to found RAW (Research and Analysis Wing), was then heading India's covert aerial reconnaissance programme. Kohli was told he would soon travel to the United States. No explanation was given. He didn't even have a passport, but one had already been arranged, Kohli was Kohli didn't know then was that he was about to be roped into a secret CIA-ARC collaboration, one that combined mountaineering and HIMALAYAS BECAME SPY CENTRE; COLD WAR AT 25,000 FEETIn 1964, Communist China detonated its first nuclear bomb in Lop Nur, rattled both the Capitalist United States and China's neighbour, surveillance was still rudimentary, and the Americans were desperate for closer access to seismic and radiological data from China's nuclear test sites. India's newly forged friendship with the US provided an plan: install a radioisotope thermoelectric generator (RTG), codenamed "Guru Rinpoche", on a Himalayan ridge near the Nanda Devi peak (7,817 metres/ 25,646 feet), close to the Tibetan there was no source of electricity at that height, it was planned that the RTG would power a listening device to detect and transmit signals from China's nuclear experiments. Heat signatures, seismic waves, and radiation levels from China were to be collected and traditional batteries, the RTG was designed to operate without maintenance for years, with a core of Plutonium-238, which was highly RTG and the surveillance equipment weighed over 50 kilograms. Lugging it up the icy slopes of the Himalayas would take dozens of a team comprising ITBP mountaineers, American operatives, and, most importantly, Sherpas was assembled to haul it up one of the world's most treacherous routes and place it on a ridge close to the peak. China's first successful atomic bomb explosion, in 1964, spooked both the US and India. (Image: People's Pictorial, January 1965 issue) advertisementHOW BLIZZARD STOPPED CIA-IB'S NUCLEAR CLIMB TO NANDA DEVIBy mid-September 1965, Kohli and the joint CIA-ITBP team started the mission to carry the device up Nanda Devi and reached the base the unpredictable weather, the team pushed ahead, and set up a series of several stocked-up camps along the ascent was planned that a team of Sherpas would first ferry the heavy surveillance equipment from Camp IV to a suitable point near the summit. Once that was done, a second team, comprising two Indian and two American climbers, would climb up, and assemble the nuclear-powered device in a secure position and crank it by October 16, when the mission reached Camp IV with the nuclear device, nature had other plans. A severe blizzard rolled and the threat of avalanches made progress impossible. Kohli reluctantly made the call to visibility dropping and safety at stake, the team anchored the device securely into a crevice, hoping to retrieve and install it once conditions improved. They lashed the RTG to a rock at Camp IV, planning to return after the winter thaw, noted Kohli in his 2003 weather conditions and the remote location, however, allowed no further movement that season. The climbers descended, leaving behind not just their cargo, but the first signs of a future mystery. A view of the Nanda Devi and its sibling peaks from Uttarakhand's Nainital. (Image: Unsplash) HOW NUCLEAR DEVICE DISAPPEARED IN HIMALAYAS WITHOUT A TRACEWhen the recovery team returned in 1966, the device was mountaineer GS Bhangu, who also assented the Everest and the covert Nanda Devi expedition in 1965 along with Kohli, led the expedition with six Sherpas."Bhangu rushed to the rock with which he had secured the equipment in 1965. The rock ledge had broken down! There was no sign of the nuclear-powered generator. For a moment, Bhangu stood stunned and motionless. He frantically looked around. During the winter, tons of fresh snow must have fallen on Nanda Devi. Under its weight the device must have broken off the rock-ledge and gone down. To where?," noted Kohli in his rock it had been tied to had disappeared. A snowstorm or avalanche had likely swept it away."The Nanda Devi slopes were soon scoured by climbers and Sherpas trying to locate the abandoned device. The Sherpas had never been used for such work. They took it in their stride and went about this new task with great sincerity. After several days of strenuous work, they all drew a blank," wrote was a high-risk failure and a big setback. The disappearance of a nuclear device in one of the world's most ecologically sensitive and densely populated watersheds triggered alarm in both Washington and New TRACE OF NANDA DEVI N-DEVICE DESPITE SEARCH OPsThe CIA and Indian intelligence two years, search missions combed the mountain, hoping to locate the RTG before it ruptured or slid further into the valley. But Nanda Devi, 25,643 feet tall and often shrouded in ice storms, revealed internal reports, the CIA acknowledged the loss of the plutonium-powered device. The Indian government, fearing public outrage and scrutiny, never officially admitted its role in the operation until decades radiation leak has ever been confirmed.A 1978 Indian Atomic Energy Commission survey found no plutonium traces in the region, but also could not locate the 1967, two years after the Nanda Devi mission was aborted, a similar device was successfully installed on nearby Nanda Kot, a lower and less treacherous peak. That surveillance post functioned for a few months, gathering intelligence before its electronics failed. Eventually, the US transitioned to non-nuclear, solar-powered devices and later, more sophisticated satellite CIA-India nuclear mission was quietly buried under official secrecy, until it was publicly acknowledged by Kohli, and reported in the Indian and American press in the 1990s and early 2000s. A map marking Nanda Kot, the peak where a nuclear-powered surveillance device was eventually installed in 1967 after the attempt to do that at Nanda Devi failed in 1965. (Image: CIA Archive) In 1978, when the issue reached Prime Minister Morarji Desai, after questions were raised in the US, he was compelled to respond publicly by appointing a high-level scientific committee to investigate the matter, assess potential environmental dangers, and recommend steps to locate the missing nuclear device and prevent future American author Broughton Coburn, in his book 'The Vast Unknown: America's First Ascent of Everest', claimed that members of Indian intelligence agencies might have secretly trekked up the Nanda Devi route before the official spring recovery mission and retrieved the device, possibly to study its design or extract the plutonium without informing the over half a century has passed, the spectre of the Nanda Devi device has never quite and scientists continue to express concerns over radioactive contamination if the RTG were to rupture due to geological tectonic shifts or glacial as the world confronts fresh nuclear threats, from Iran to Pakistan, the missing nuclear device on Nanda Devi, which is likely buried under snow, but resurfaces regularly in the minds of people. It is an unsolved mystery that keeps spooking people.- Ends

Birth control pill for males? Scientists developing hormone–free contraceptive tablet, sperms production...,name is...
Birth control pill for males? Scientists developing hormone–free contraceptive tablet, sperms production...,name is...

India.com

time6 days ago

  • India.com

Birth control pill for males? Scientists developing hormone–free contraceptive tablet, sperms production...,name is...

Throughout history, expectations have been placed upon women's shoulders. Whether it is taking care of the home, raising children, relationship management, or even birth control, the responsibility seems to fall to women. Now, in a significant advancement in the development of a contraceptive pill for males, YCT-529 has passed its first human safety trial. The contraceptive tablet, YCT-529, which does not contain any hormones, has already demonstrated positive results in animal testing, preventing 99 per cent of pregnancies when tested in mice. Although further testing is necessary, this promising success in early testing brings greater hope that the pill may soon be a safe and effective birth control option for men. According to a Daily Mail report, the hormone-free contraceptive tablet YCT-529 works by blocking access to vitamin A within the testes, thus preventing sperm from being produced. Subsequently, it will not affect testosterone levels. Notably, a man's libido is unaffected while the pill is being taken. As experts hope to have a male contraceptive pill available by the end of this decade, this is the only one being tested in humans right now. In the most recent trial, researchers recruited 16 men, then gave them different dosages over several days. 'Instead of testing how effective it was in humans – all of the men had undergone vasectomies – the aim was to discover if there were any side–effects,' reads the Daily Mail report. Analysis indicated that participants did not have any significant changes in heart rate, hormonal function, inflammation, mood, or sexual function. The next stage for the researchers is to conduct larger trials to assess how effective the pill is at preventing sperm production in humans. Experts stated that the findings of this safety trial, published in Communications Medicine, represent an important first step to the pill becoming approved and available. According to the results of the safety trial, published in the journal Communications Medicine, a total of 16 male volunteers were enrolled to receive single oral doses of 10, 30, 90 or 180 mg of YCT-529 in the fasted state. Volunteers also received 30 mg in the fed state to study the effect of food on the pharmacokinetics of YCT-529. What were the results of the test? Well, as per the results published in the Journal Communications Medicine, single doses of up to 180 mg of YCT-529 had no effects on heart rate, hormone (follicle-stimulating hormone, luteinizing hormone, and testosterone), sex hormone-binding globulin or inflammatory biomarker levels, sexual desire or mood. Further, there was no clear food effect on the pharmacokinetics of YCT-529. The name of the study is Safety and pharmacokinetics of the non-hormonal male contraceptive YCT-529.

When war got weird: 10 military experiments that seem straight out of sci-fi
When war got weird: 10 military experiments that seem straight out of sci-fi

Time of India

time6 days ago

  • Time of India

When war got weird: 10 military experiments that seem straight out of sci-fi

War has a funny way of turning wild ideas into serious government projects. In the chaos of World War II and the paranoia of the Cold War, military minds across the globe cooked up experiments that sound less like national defense and more like fever dreams. Think remote-viewing psychics, napalm-strapped bats, pain rays, and yes, even a surgically wired CIA spy cat, code-named 'Acoustikitty,' who was supposed to eavesdrop on Soviet agents but promptly wandered off. These weren't jokes, they were fully funded, sometimes top-secret missions with real budgets and even weirder intentions. Most of these plans fizzled out, tripped up by science, common sense, or the sheer unpredictability of, say, cats. But they offer a fascinating, and often hilarious, look into what happens when military strategy meets sci-fi imagination. So if you've ever wondered what it looks like when serious defense programs go completely off the rails, you're in the right place. Let's reimagine it. Acoustikitty : CIA tried to recruit cats, they refused to take orders In the mid-1960s, the CIA launched a curious and ambitious project known as "Acoustikitty," aiming to use wired and microphoned cats to covertly eavesdrop on open-air conversations between foreign agents and their Soviet contacts. The plan involved implanting a microphone in the cat's ear, a transmitter under its skin, and an antenna woven into its fur, allowing it to inconspicuously capture sensitive conversations in public places like parks. Despite the technology functioning as intended, the fundamental flaw lay in the cat's unpredictable behavior, true to feline nature, it couldn't be trained to follow specific commands or approach intended targets reliably. After several unsuccessful tests, the project was ultimately abandoned in 1967 without ever seeing operational use. Still, the story of Acoustikitty remains one of the most bizarre and enduring legends of Cold War espionage. Project Stargate : Psychic soldiers for intel Project Stargate was a Cold War-era US intelligence effort to explore the potential military use of psychic phenomena, especially remote viewing, the claimed ability to perceive distant or unseen targets without physical presence. Sparked by reports that the Soviet Union was heavily investing in psychic research, the CIA feared falling behind in this unconventional domain. Throughout the 1970s to 1990s, the program evolved under various codenames like SCANATE, GONDOLA WISH, and GRILL FLAME, eventually becoming known as Stargate. Supporters of Project Stargate cite cases where remote viewers allegedly identified a crashed Soviet aircraft in Africa and described hidden facilities later verified by traditional intelligence. However, critics argue these successes were overstated, noting that remote viewing often produced vague or inaccurate information and that results could not be reliably replicated under controlled conditions, casting doubt on the program's scientific validity. By 1995, it was declassified and terminated after a review found it failed to produce consistently reliable intelligence. The Gay Bomb: Chemical to 'turn' enemies In 1994, a US military lab at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base proposed developing a non-lethal chemical weapon designed to disrupt enemy morale by inducing homosexual behavior among troops using a potent aphrodisiac. The idea was part of a $7.5 million funding request aimed at researching chemicals that could impair enemy discipline and cohesion without causing physical harm. Although the "gay bomb" proposal was ultimately rejected, it resurfaced years later when the document was disclosed through a Freedom of Information request. The watchdog group Sunshine Project publicized the bizarre and controversial plan, which highlighted the extremes explored in psychological warfare during that era. Avrocar: Real-life flying saucer attempt The VZ-9AV Avrocar was a Cold War-era experimental aircraft designed to function as a high-speed, stealthy flying vehicle. Developed in the 1950s with a projected budget of $3.16 million (around $26 million today), it aimed to combine vertical takeoff and landing capabilities with advanced maneuverability. Despite its ambitious goals, the Avrocar failed to deliver in testing. It could only achieve brief hovers just above the ground and proved unstable in flight. Ultimately, the project was deemed unfeasible and was canceled before reaching operational use. Bat Bombs: Explosive bats for warfare In an unusual World War II proposal that sounds like science fiction, a quirky American inventor suggested using bats as miniature bombers. The plan involved capturing one million bats from Texas caves, attaching small napalm charges to them, and packing them into bomb casings designed to release them mid-air over Japanese cities. Once released, the bats would instinctively roost in the wooden structures common throughout Japan at the time. A timed ignition system would then detonate the incendiaries, causing widespread fires and destruction. Though never fully implemented, the concept highlights the extreme and imaginative lengths considered in wartime strategy. Project Iceworm: Missiles hidden under ice Project Iceworm was an ambitious Cold War plan to build a vast network of tunnels covering 52,000 square miles beneath Greenland's ice, about three times the size of Denmark. The design included trenches spaced four miles apart to house 600 mobile nuclear missiles, along with facilities to support 11,000 soldiers living underground, prepared for a rapid strike if necessary. A 1960 top-secret US Army report praised Greenland as an ideal location, just 3,000 miles from Moscow and strategically positioned for both offensive and second-strike capabilities. The mobility and concealment of the missiles beneath the ice were intended to prevent detection and ensure retaliation in the event of a Soviet nuclear attack. Edgewood experiments: Drugs tested on troops Between 1950 and 1975, approximately 6,720 US service members participated in chemical exposure experiments at the Edgewood Arsenal in Maryland. These tests involved 254 different chemicals and were primarily intended to study their effects on humans, evaluate protective gear, and assess how military personnel might respond to chemical warfare agents. Although no current tests can definitively confirm such past exposures, a thorough medical history and physical exam can help assess potential health risks. Participants may experience long-term psychological effects from the trauma of being used as test subjects, and concerned veterans are encouraged to consult healthcare providers for evaluation and support. Pain Ray : Heat weapon for crowd control The "Pain Ray," officially known as the Active Denial System (ADS), is a non-lethal weapon developed by the US military for crowd control and perimeter defense. It works by emitting a focused beam of millimeter-wave radiation that penetrates the outer layer of skin, producing an intense burning sensation without causing permanent damage. The beam heats the skin to around 130°F (54°C), triggering an instinctive pain response that causes individuals to quickly move away from the targeted area. Designed as a safer alternative to rubber bullets or tear gas, the Pain Ray has been tested in various scenarios but has seen limited deployment due to concerns about safety, public perception, and ethical implications. Critics argue that while it may not cause lasting harm, the psychological and potential long-term effects of such a weapon remain poorly understood. Despite this, the ADS represents a significant advancement in non-lethal crowd control technology. Camel Corps: Military camels in America The Camel Corps was a mid-19th-century US military experiment aimed at using camels as pack animals in the arid regions of the American Southwest. Initiated by Secretary of War Jefferson Davis in the 1850s, the program involved importing camels from the Middle East to test their effectiveness in desert conditions. Housed at Camp Verde, Texas, the camels proved to be strong, resilient, and well-suited for transporting supplies over long distances. Despite their success in field trials, the project was eventually abandoned due to the Civil War, lack of institutional support, and soldiers' preference for traditional animals like horses and mules. Peacekeeper Trains: Nukes launched from trains Peacekeeper Trains were a Cold War-era US military concept designed to make nuclear missile launches more survivable by placing them on mobile rail platforms. The idea was to load Peacekeeper intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) onto specially designed train cars that could travel across the national rail network, making their location unpredictable and reducing their vulnerability to a first-strike attack. By constantly moving or being deployed to remote tracks, these trains would ensure a credible second-strike capability. Although the system was tested and proven feasible, the program was never fully deployed due to high costs, logistical challenges, and arms reduction treaties. (The article uses AI generated images)

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