A former U.S. government adviser told the audience at an international conference in Amsterdam that a number of active UFO researchers in the 1970s and 1980s died in bizarre incidents.

Timothy Hood, who is also an amateur astronomer, told participants at the extraterrestrial intelligence convention that he has studied the activities of UFO researchers for 30 years.

Hood noted that UFO chasers (those who report UFO sightings) do not suffer the same fate as professional scientists deliberately looking for extraterrestrial life. He cited professional astrophysics as an example.

For instance, American astronomer Morris K. Jessup, who was a prolific writer of books on intelligent life beyond Earth died of suicide. He reportedly locked himself in his car, leaving the exhaust pipe open and the ignition, turned on.

In another example, Professor James Edward McDonald, who had studied UFOs and worked at the Institute of Atmospheric Physics of the Earth, died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head.

The report on Hood's presentation was originally published in Russian at Yoki.ru. It was translated in English at Pravda.ru. Hood cited several other examples.

Hood pointed out that during his research, 25 people who studied space science had died over various reasons. He said these deaths were more than just a coincidence. He said "special services" eliminated the experts because their vast knowledge proved to be a threat.

It has been part of the pop culture to look into, and even spread reports that the U.S. government knows a lot about alien life. The defunct series X-Files, for instance, focused on a special agent's investigations into bizarre occurrences in the states.

However, no UFO sighting or alien life has been publicly acknowledged by government authorities up to this time.

Do you think Hood's report is convincing in terms of letting the public know that the government is hiding its knowledge of alien life?