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Researchers Finally Solve Mystery of 'Alien' Skeleton (cnn.com)

Posted by msmash on from the upon-further-inspection dept.

When the mummified remains of a six-inch humanoid were found in an abandoned mining town in Chile's Atacama desert 15 years ago, speculation on its origins ran wild. The skeleton, it is being reported, was so bizarre it appeared in a documentary as potential evidence for alien life. But now scientists in California have extracted DNA from the mummy's bones and pieced together the real and tragic story of the individual, known as Ata. Rather than a visitor from another world, Ata was a girl who appears to have been stillborn, or to have died immediately after birth, with devastating mutations that shaped her extraordinary body. From a report: Now, the authors of a study based on five years of genomic analysis want to set the record straight: Ata is human, albeit one with multiple bone disease-associated mutations. And they believe that their findings, published Thursday in the journal Genome Research, could help diagnose genetic mutation-based cases for living patients. In 2003, Ata was found in a deserted mining town called La Noria, in Chile's Atacama region. It was thought to be ancient at first, but initial analysis conducted in 2012 proved that the skeleton was only about 40 years old. This meant DNA would still be intact and could be retrieved for study.

14 of 49 comments (clear)

  1. No surprise by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    so bizarre it appeared in a documentary as potential evidence for alien life

    That wasn't a documentary of anything.

  2. Hmm so the simplest answer is usually the truth by foxalopex · · Score: 4, Insightful

    So I guess this falls under Occam's razor, the simplest explanation is most likely the truth. Still as the study noted that's a lot of mutations, and references to a toxic mine.

    1. Re:Hmm so the simplest answer is usually the truth by Bruce+Perens · · Score: 3, Funny

      And if it was an alien what do you think the press release would be?

      It would be one of these.

      --
      Bruce Perens.
  3. Wrong quotes by SuperKendall · · Score: 2

    Headline should read "Solve" the mystery of the alien bones, since obviously it's just a coverup.

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    "There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
    1. Re:Wrong quotes by PopeRatzo · · Score: 1

      Kendall is obviously a retarded Trump-supporting faggot of no value intellectually.

      That's really not called for. You can disagree with someone's political beliefs without calling them names.

      SuperKendall is actually a pretty decent guy outside of his obviously wrong political views. I know a couple of liberals that I'd trade for him if I was making a run for the playoffs and needed to put another right-handed bat in the lineup.

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      You are welcome on my lawn.
    2. Re:Wrong quotes by Bruce+Perens · · Score: 1

      That's really not called for. You can disagree with someone's political beliefs without calling them names.

      Sure, but I'll feel better this way :-)

      --
      Bruce Perens.
    3. Re:Wrong quotes by Megol · · Score: 1

      LOL!

  4. This was an X-Files episode by thomn8r · · Score: 1

    they breed their own stock, if you get my meaning

  5. Re:Farside comic by wonkey_monkey · · Score: 1

    Because good looking people don't leave bones behind...?

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    systemd is Roko's Basilisk.
  6. Good. by rsilvergun · · Score: 2

    I've said it before and I'll say it again, I like a world without mysteries. This encourages people to rely on and believe science and reason instead of magic and mysticism. That can't help but be a good thing.

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    1. Re:Good. by greylion3 · · Score: 1

      I kinda see your point, but I think you'll discover that the 'rabbithole' goes much, much deeper than you could ever imagine. Want some examples?

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      Privacy begins with ..
    2. Re:Good. by kilfarsnar · · Score: 1

      I've said it before and I'll say it again, I like a world without mysteries. This encourages people to rely on and believe science and reason instead of magic and mysticism. That can't help but be a good thing.

      But science is all about mysteries! The whole reason science exists is to demystify the world; to discover and explain how it works. I think you mean that you like it when mysteries are solved. Indeed! But a world without mysteries would be a boring place, in my opinion.

      --
      "What the American public doesn't know is what makes them the American public." -Ray Zalinsky (Tommy Boy)
  7. Reminds me of the old slashdot sci-fi contest by Provocateur · · Score: 1

    Slashdot had a contest recently, to write a sci-fi short in seven words or less. The winner happened to be ,well, spoiler alert.

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    WARNING: Smartphones have side effects--most of them undocumented.
  8. Died shortly after birth by wolfheart111 · · Score: 1

    Does this translate into Aliens unlikely to be that small on other worlds. An interesting thought...

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