The remains of a 6-inch skeleton that was once thought to belong to the remains of an alien have been uncovered by scientists. A new DNA study of the bones shows that the remains are, in fact, human and belonged to a baby girl who had dwarfism. Nicknamed ‘Ata,’ the incredible find made in 2003 in Atacama, Chile, has a long cone-like skull and just ten ribs.
The skeleton found its way to a collector in Spain who speculated that it was an extraterrestrial – judging from its bizarre appearance – and it appeared in a documentary, Sirius, which suggested it was evidence of alien life. After five years of in-depth genomic analysis, scientists have pinpointed the mutations responsible for the small size of the skeleton.
Scientists have tested the DNA of a bizarre human skeleton, once rumored to have extraterrestrial origins. The skeleton, nicknamed Ata, was discovered more than a decade ago in an abandoned town in the Atacama Desert of Chile.
The skeleton, found in a leather pouch, was sold to a private collector in Spain soon after it was discovered. Scientists in California recently extracted DNA from the mummy’s bones to uncover its origin. Genetic tests at the University of California, San Francisco, and Stanford University have provided key information that the bones were indeed those of a human female that died 40 years ago. Initially thought to be a child aged 6 to 8 years old, scientists now believe it was a fetus or a child that died shortly before birth.
The researchers found mutations in not one but several genes known to govern bone development, some of which have never been described before.
DNA analysis reveals that her apparentance can be explained by a series of genetic mutations that are linked to dwarfism and other bone and growth disorders.
The skeleton is most likely from a premature baby, or from one soon after birth. DNA analysis reveals that her appearance can be explained by a series of genetic mutations that are linked to dwarfism and other bone and growth disorders.
The latest study revealed four new single nucleotide variations (SNVs) – a type of genetic mutation at the individual level – in genes that were known to cause bone diseases, like scoliosis or dyslocations, as well as two more SNVs in genes involved in producing collagen. Sanchita Bhattacharya, a researcher at UCSF, found 64 variants in ‘Ata’s DNA that seemed likely to be damaging. She found that, initially, 10 of the variants were linked to skeletal problems, including ‘short stature’ and ’11 pairs of ribs’.
Other gene variants included problems with producing collagen – used in cartilage – and genes linked to curvature of the spine known as scoliosis.
Beyond her skeletal malformations, Ata may have had a genetic condition known as congenital diaphragmatic hernia. This is a relatively common life-threatening birth defect in which the diaphragm does not develop properly.
Dr. Nolan, a professor of microbiology and immunology at the Stanford University School of Medicine, began the scientific examination of Ata in 2012 when a friend called her attention to an ‘alien.’ Dr. Nolan says that research on Ata may benefit patients. She said: ‘Maybe there’s a way to accelerate bone growth in people who need it, people who have bad breaks.’ ‘Nothing like this has been seen before. Certainly, nobody has looked into the genetics of it.’ She said her genes are similar to those of Chilean Chilote Indians, and that the remains suggest she lived no more than 40 years ago.
Speaking to the Guardian, she said: ‘She was so badly malformed as to be unable to feed. In her condition, she would have ended up in the neonatal ICU, but given where the specimen was found, such things were simply not available.’
The skeleton, nicknamed Ata, was discovered more than a decade ago in an abandoned town in the Atacama Desert of Chile. The unusual appearance is explained by a handful of rare genetic mutations, some already known and others newly discovered.
The researchers speculate that the skeleton’s deformities and the fact it was found near an abandoned nitrate mine in Chile may have resulted from DNA damage caused by exposure to nitrates. “While this story is about aliens, and went international, it’s really a story of a human tragedy… A woman had a malformed baby, it was preserved in a manner and then ‘hocked’ or sold as a strange artifact. Maybe she rest in peace.” He added that he hoped Ata is given a proper burial. “We now know that it’s a child, and probably a pre- or post-term birth, maybe with a pre- or post-term birth defect. I think it should be returned to the country of origin and buried according to the customs of the local people.” The researchers speculate that the skeleton’s deformities and the fact it was found near an abandoned nitrate mine in Chile may have resulted from DNA damage caused by exposure to nitrates. The remains were found near an abandoned nitrate mine in Chile.
This was the skeleton of a human female, likely a fetus, that had suffered severe genetic mutations.
The girl’s cone-shaped skull remains a mystery even after the genetic analysis.
It has previously been suggested that the unusual shape could have been caused by a condition known as oxycephaly, or turricephaly.
This condition can cause a premature closure of the sutures which separate the bones in the cranium.
Ata has the DNA of a modern human female with the mix of Native American and European ancestral markers inherited from someone who lived near the place where she was found.
When this happens, the development of the brain and the rest of the skull follows an unusual pattern and can lead to a tapered appearance of the skull.
There are many different types of craniosynostoses, conditions that can cause a malformed skull, but this is considered the most severe.
The condition is linked to impaired mental capacity and decreased neurological function.