Mexico's controversial 'alien bodies' undergo lab tests

Doctors in Mexico City have conducted several laboratory tests on the country's most famous alleged alien bodies as the controversy escalates.

Are we alone in the world? This is the question that journalist and self-proclaimed "ufologist" Jaime Maussan is trying to answer.

Last week, Maussan presented two mummified specimens to the Mexican Congress that he claims are the bodies of extraterrestrial beings.

The two small, chalky mummies, with elongated heads and only three fingers on each hand, stunned not only the parliamentarians but many people who watch on TV and online as the drama unfolded. 

Since then, critics have continued to claim that the bodies have been repeatedly discredited as fakes by scientists and experts.

Last Monday, doctors in Mexico City carried out several laboratory tests on the remains.

According to Jose de Jesus Zalce Benitez, director of the Mexican Navy's Scientific Institute for Health, the three studies were designed to check the skeletal structure of the bodies.

The study proved that the alleged bodies belonged to a single skeleton and were not assembled.

"There is no evidence of any assembly or manipulation of the skulls," Zalce added.

However, the Peruvian Attorney General's Office, together with the Institute of Legal Medicine and Forensic Sciences, had launched an investigation years earlier, when the bodies were found.

The investigation found that the figures were "recently manufactured".

"Creations made of animal and human bones joined together with synthetic glue. These in turn were covered with a mixture of plant fibres and synthetic glue to simulate a type of skin," the report added.

There has been much speculation over the past week as more information has come to light, but the question is, what is known about the alleged UFOs so far?

During the plenary session of Congress, Maussan stated under oath that they were non-human beings.

He said they were buried in a remote area of Peru and were around 1,000 years old, according to carbon dating tests allegedly carried out by researchers at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM).

However, these claims have been qualified by the university.

The university's Institute of Physics denied that its studies could be used to prove that the two bodies belonged to extraterrestrials.

They were able to prove through carbon-14 analysis that the bodies had been buried for 1,000 years in diatomaceous earth, a type of algae that does not allow bacteria or fungi to grow, making their preservation possible.

In a statement, the institution said that "they are only intended to determine the age of the sample brought by each user and in no case do we draw conclusions about the origin of these samples".

At the congressional session, Maussan invited military personnel, air traffic controllers and astronomers to support his theory.

As the theory of the alleged alien bodies persists, Maussan's supporters and detractors grow. Meanwhile, the world waits to see if the bodies are proof that there is life beyond Earth.