What is it - a skillful fake, a genetic abnormality or the mummy of a real alien?
We will try to figure it out.
In 2003, a very unusual mummy was found in the Atacama Desert in northern Chile. It was found by a "black digger" and sold to a local restaurateur for 3000 pesos (about $ 50). According to him, the mummy was wrapped in white cloth and tied with a purple ribbon.
On October 9, 2003, photographs of the find first appeared in the press. The restaurateur received over $ 1000 for the first two photos alone. The amount for which he parted with the mummy was not disclosed, but offers reached 120 thousand dollars.
At first glance, the mummy seemed very ancient, despite its very good preservation. The first suggestion of scientists that this is a human embryo with genetic abnormalities was immediately questioned. Despite its small size (6 inches - about 15 cm), the creature had a fully formed bony skeleton, corresponding to the age of 6-8 years for a human child. The cone-shaped head and the semblance of a bone crest on the head gave it an alien look. In addition, the mummy had only 10 ribs, and not 12 as usual in humans!
A certain resemblance to the "Aleshenka" from Kyshtym (Chelyabinsk region), found in 1996, immediately strikes the eye. The "Kyshtym dwarf" is also a mummy of a certain creature with an unusual appearance, unfortunately, now lost. "Alyoshenka" never reached the scientists, only not very clear photographs and unprofessional video filming of the object remained.
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There was no doubt about the reality of the find, but what it was, remained unclear.
With the find from the Atacama, the ufologists were lifted up - the "Kyshtym newcomer" is not alone!
"Kyshtym dwarf", aka "Alyoshenka"
The first thing the scientists said was that the Atacama find was a real mummy, not a fake. And she is only 40 years old, no more, that is, she is practically modern.
After the publication in 2013 (study of the DNA of the mummy) in the journal Science, it became clear that the "alien from Atacama" is still a human, albeit with significant genetic abnormalities.
However, that publication did not answer many questions. Now it's time to answer them more fully - in the journal Genome Research in March 2018, another article was published on the study of mummy DNA.
Comparison of the skeletons of the newborn and the mummy "from Atacama" (right):
One of its authors - Harry Nolan, professor of microbiology and immunology at Stanford University in California, it was he who in 2013 came to the conclusion that the mummy is still human.
Now Nolan and his colleagues at the University of California, San Francisco have published an analysis of the complete alien genome. From DNA extracted from the bones of the mummy, they found that the mummy was a girl who had mutations in at least seven genes known to cause serious skeletal malformations or accelerate their development.
One of the diagnoses is congenital dwarfism (dwarfism).
Taken together, these genetic mutations account for Ata's size, abnormal ribs and skull shape, and the seemingly overdeveloped bones for her age. In addition, the child had a congenital hernia of the diaphragm.
Further analysis showed that her DNA is closest to that of other Chileans in the area.
The researchers believe that the girl was most likely stillborn or died immediately after birth, about 40 years before her remains were discovered.
She had a chance to survive in a modern neonatal center, but not on the edge of the desert in a poor working-class community near the mine. Nevertheless, the child was buried in or near the cemetery, where he was dug up by the "black digger".
I hope that after all her adventures, the "alien" girl will nevertheless find herself an eternal shelter, where no one will ever bother her, as her mother once wanted.
