Fact Check: Dr Zalce alien skeleton

A mummified skeleton that scientists discovered in Chile's Atacama Desert 15 years ago doesn't look like anyone you've ever met. In fact, some would say it looks, well, alien.

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A mummified skeleton that scientists discovered in Chile’s Atacama Desert 15 years ago doesn’t look like anyone you’ve ever met. In fact, some would say it looks, well, alien.

Although dating initially estimated the bone age of the skeleton at between 6 and 8 years, the researchers found that the remains had a rare bone-aging disorder that made them seem older than the person they belonged to.

Apparently when the mummified specimen was discovered, some had suggested the possibility it was an alien that had somehow landed on Earth, though the researchers involved never suggested this otherworldly origin.

In 2013, he concluded that Ata was human, but the reasons for the dramatic deformities were far from clear. Nolan and his colleagues at the University of California in San Francisco have now published their analysis of Ata’s full genetic makeup.

The researchers were looking for what might explain the skeleton's small stature, as well as the abnormal rib count and other bone and skull oddities. [Analysis] revealed a number of mutations within seven genes. Together, these created bone and musculoskeletal deformities, like scoliosis, and skeletal dysplasia, known as dwarfism. Strickland, Ashley. "Researchers Finally Solve Mystery of 'Alien' Skeleton."

"Was a Tiny Mummy in the Atacama an Alien? No, but the Real Story Is Almost as Strange". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 3 January 2025. Retrieved 26 July 2018. 1 2 3 4 Nolan, Garry; Butte, Atul (30 March 2018). "The Atacama skeleton". Genome Research. 28 (5). Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory: 607–608. doi:10.1101/gr.237834.118. ISSN 1088-9051. PMC 5932602. PMID 29602903. 1 2 3 Reichard, Cara (20 May 2013). "Professor debunks ...

... All of this is important for ... or anything else, because they were actually “dolls” assembled from animal bones fixed together with glue and then wrapped up to make fake mummies....