Skeleton Ata: no, it's not an alien's

The discovery in Chile of a tiny, alien-like skeleton had intrigued the planet, but after analysis, researchers revealed that it was a little girl with rare genetic mutations, associated with dwarfism.

Nicknamed "Ata", the mummified skeleton was found in 2003 behind a church in the Atacama Desert , slipped into a leather pouch. If the notion of an extraterrestrial body was discarded a long time ago, a complete genetic analysis showed a handful of rare mutations associated with dwarfism , malformations and apparent premature aging .

The experts had earlier suggested that the bones appeared to belong to a being six to eight years old, said this new study published in the journal Genome Research . "We now know that this is a child, presumably stillborn or dead after birth," said Garry Nolan, lead author of the study and professor of microbiology and immunology at Stanford University. , in California.

Ata, this human skeleton so curious, measures only fifteen centimeters. It's small, but full of mysteries ... Cipiripilala, YouTube

Complete analysis of the genome of the skeleton

The good condition of the skeleton suggests that it is forty years at most. The child had a number, previously never observed, of ten pairs of ribs when humans have twelve.

Using DNA extracted from the bone marrow, the researchers performed a complete genome analysis and were able to determine that it was from South America, Chiloe Island, Chile. Some mutations were known to scientists, others not, and the discovery could eventually lead to treatments for people with bone problems, said the researcher.

For now Garry Nolan wants the skeleton - owned by a Spanish collector - to return to Chile. "I think it should be returned to the country of origin and buried according to the customs of the local people. "

To know more

Science shifted: the mysterious human with the head of extraterrestrial

Article by Jeanlou Chaput, published on May 12, 2013

An elongated skull surmounted by a ridge: this humanoid has all the extraterrestrial science fiction. However, an analysis has shown that this skeleton, only 15 cm high, is that of a human being. Named Ata, he could even have died at the age of 8 ...

A mummified fetus ? A miniature primate ? A deformed child? Or worse, an alien ? Rumors are rife around the strange skeleton of Ata, 15 cm high and with characters never before seen. The analyzes are still in progress, but part of the mystery seems solved: it is indeed a human being, and even of one of our contemporaries ...
Context: Ata, star of a movie about extraterrestrials

Desert of Atacama, Chile, about ten years ago. During excavations in an abandoned village, an expedition brings back in its luggage a skeleton at least atypical. Top of 15 cm, his skull is abnormally elongated, and a pair of ribs is absent. The specimen is recovered by a private collector who keeps it in Barcelona. Its trace is found by the producers of a documentary called Sirius , which has just been broadcast in the United States, on April 22. The fossil is presented as one of the plausible proofs of the existence of extraterrestrials. Is it a being from elsewhere?

An abnormally long forehead for a human skull? Yet Ata is a member of our species, with strange deformities, and is not an extraterrestrial. Cipiripilala, YouTube

Garry Nolan, a researcher at Stanford University (California, USA), heard about the skeleton named Ata, and got in touch with the filmmakers to examine the specimen more closely. Caught up by the Lilliputian's buzz in the US media, the scientist shared preliminary results of his experiments, but promises to publish everything once he has all the elements at hand. Because even today, a thick mystery hangs around this skeleton. But Garry Nolan has already figured out some of the problem ...
The study: a human being who died a few decades ago

Intrigued, the man brought Ata to his colleague Ralph Lachman, known and recognized for his skills in skeletal disorders in children. Although accustomed to seeing deformities, the specialist admits that he has never been confronted with such a case. DNA tests are then performed. In his first intuition, Garry Nolan thinks thatAta must have died tens of thousands of years ago. He gives samples to paleoanthropologists to determine his place in the human tree .

There is no doubt that his genome is "modern, abundant and of high quality," says Garry Nolan in Science Now . In other words, it is a human being like us, dead no later than a few decades ago. Its mitochondrial DNA , received from its mother, is of B2 haplotype , characteristic of the west coast of South America. Everything is coherent.

Genetic analyzes reveal in fact 9% of abnormalities , fragments that do not agree with the reference human DNA . But several factors, such as degradation or small defects in the preparation, can be at the origin.
Causes of deformities: genetic abnormalities or toxic product?

Ata goes under X-rays for a careful analysis of her skeleton. At the level of the epiphyseal plates of the knees (a cartilaginous part), the observed wear suggests that the individual died at an age between 6 and 8 years. For Garry Nolan, three possibilities open to him. Ata was perhaps affected by a very particular form of dwarfism , in which case he would have been born and remained tiny throughout his short life. Otherwise, he could have had a very aggressive form of disease that accelerates aging , such as progeria . In this case, the fetus of about 22 weeks would have died in utero, with signs normally found at a later age. Reviews are underway to verify these assumptions.

These pictures show the skeleton of Ata under several seams. What harm has he suffered? Garry Nolan

Finally, the track of teratogenic substances, which causes congenital malformations , is also explored. The tissues will be passed to the mass spectrometer to find any traces of toxic products or their metabolites .

Garry Nolan looks more for the genetic cause, because other skeletons Lilliputiens found around the world seem to go in this direction. But at this stage of the investigation, he has not yet found anything that can attest to it.
The external eye: the hoax of the 21st century?

However, this conclusion is not suitable for all scientists. For William Jungers, quoted in Science Now , it is more of a fetus or a child born prematurely who would have been badly embalmed. The immaturity of the bones in his hands and feet suggests a much younger age than what Garry Nolan's tests show. In addition, the skull is not welded, as is normally the case in children 6 years. That's why genetic analysis would not reveal anything ...

It remains to explain the abnormal wear of the epiphyseal patches of the knees. The puzzle seems almost insoluble, and Garry Nolan deepens his research and promises the publication of an article once all the elements in his possession. We will have to wait to find out more.

Some already speak of a hoax , as the science has already known with the Man of Piltdown for example. But for the Californian researcher, it's impossible. X-ray analysis shows that the skeleton is a real one. "It's impossible to falsify. Except by extraterrestrials, " says the scientist with humor. But if it's not a hoax, what is it then?

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Source: https://www.futura-sciences.com/sante/actualites/medecine-squelette-ata-non-ce-nest-pas-celui-extraterrestre-46341/

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