E.T. and evolution | The Salt Lake Tribune

This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2014, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

Where would science be without Darwin's finches?

In the 19th century they inspired Charles Darwin's theory of evolution.

In the 21st century they provide compelling evidence of extra-terrestial intervention in human evolution.

The Trib reported on May 6 about University of Utah researchers working to save the endangered birds from blood-sucking fly maggots. From a finch's perspective, what could possibly be more alien than a University of Utah researcher?

The same perspective could hold true for ancient hominids. Space aliens could very well have been the elusive missing link, intervening via genetic engineering to expand our brain size and create the larynx.

We can only hope that their influence is ongoing and that they will help to resolve the conflict over the U. fight song.

Allen Sacharov

Salt Lake City