The Atacama Mummy is not an alien, as it was once purported to be, but it's not a fake, either. The tiny skin-covered skeleton is only 6 inches long. It was discovered in a small deserted town in the Atacama Desert in Chile in 2003. Experts who studied the mummy found it to be human, but were confused by test results. The bone density is that of a 6-year-old child, but how could a 6-inch body survive that long? Gene sequencing had now yielded some results.
According to the new analysis, Ata was a human girl of Chilean descent. And indeed, she was very likely still a developing fetus when she died, even though she exhibited the bone composition of a six-year old child. The reason for this, claim the researchers, is that Ata suffered from a rare bone-aging disorder. In total, the researchers identified mutations in at least seven genes that, either separately or in tandem, contributed to Ata’s odd physical characteristics, including facial malformations, bone deformities, and apparent dwarfism (known as skeletal dysplasia). Some of the genes analyzed in the study were already known to cause disease, but this is the first time that some of the mutations were linked to abnormal bone growth or other developmental problems.
Scientists were astonished at how many different genes in the mummy showed mutations. The implications for medicine may mean that health issues could be caused by more than one gene anomaly. Read more about the Atacama Mummy at Gizmodo.
(Image credit: Dr. Emery Smith)
Comments (0)
Great ready btw.
Thanks!
Also, if France sucks, America blows.
So not really a suicide at all then.
btw the French loved me and my friends when we visited Paris and we're all Americans. If the French were rude to you, you're probably just stupid or obnoxious or something.
Also, if you go to Paris remember that their national language, with pride and dignity, is French. If you don't speak French, don't scream English at them.
I've traveled the world, and of all the cities I've visited (including remote places like Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia), Paris, France was the rudest and its people the most unhelpful.
grammar?well, lets judt consider that,man..take alook of the effort not that grammar thing..tsk tsk..
i love this place so much !
I feel fortunate because I speak English and French.
I love Americans and love French people.
I lived in Paris for one year and, man!, if you speak the language, even those who knows the basic,and explain your reasons they are very helpful. You have no idea how many times French people helped me.
But give me a break! I was walking one day and an American old lady started asking me in English, without even asking me if I speak English or not, informations about... I don't know what it was because I thought it was very rude of her not asking "Do you speak English?".
I told her in my language, Portuguese, I don't speak English or French.
It seems this old lady follows me because I was in my country and she came with a coke can and demanded me where on earth was the can recycle bin?
I'm sorry but I told her that in my country we don't have it and almost told her to get the can back to her country since it was her countries garbage she was holding.
lol
A friend of mine showed her where was the right garbage to put her coke can.
I don't like the when Americans like this old lady behaves this way.
I love Americans and have many American friends.
I am telling these stories just to say that this kind of generalization and stereotypes makes no sense.
I believe that some Americans will have this antipathy towards French people till the end of the times.
What about Germans? Polish or Russian people.
Oh! I am Brazilian.
I would like to inform you that our capital is Brasília and that samba has nothing to do with salsa or other Latin musics and dances.
:)
There are many things you don't know about Brazil and I also don't like the stereotypes.
Well, I believe that there are many errors for some readers amuse themselves and I will not read to correct them.
I loved the post.
I will copy the photo to my blog.
Thanks for sharing Alex!
:)
I forgot to tell her that colonialism did the same to indigenous people like they did in AMerica.
I am trying to acceesss:) the site to get the copyrights but it's not working anymore.
Pity!
As far as people go, I encountered many people all over Italy who lived up to the Parisiens' reputation for rudeness and intolerance, but the people I met in France were generally ok.
When I visit a foreign country, I do make it a point to learn how to say, "I don't speak [the language], do you speak English?" This backfired in Israel: several people responded to me in Hebrew anyway since I was speaking the language.