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Experts have raised concerns that the DNA study of the Atacama mummy known as Ata is defective and unethical. They said that the genetic study of the weird specimen should not have been conducted in the first place.
( Emery Smith | Journal of Genome Research )
Researchers at Stanford University have previously conducted a DNA analysis to determine the nature of a mysterious mummy found in the Atacama desert in Chile.
Atacama Alien Mummy
The mummy of Atacama, also known as Ata, was discovered about 15 years ago. The sample measures about 6 inches long with a pair of missing ribs and a very distorted head and face. He was suspected of being of foreign origin because of his weird appearance.
Garry Nolan, an immunologist at Stanford University, and his colleagues concluded in a 2013 study that the remains belonged to a human.
In a follow-up study, which was published in the journal Genome Research in March, the researchers conducted a genome-wide sequence analysis of the specimen's DNA.
They concluded that Ata was a female of Chilean origin and was developing. fetus at the time of his death. Nolan and her colleagues reported that she was probably suffering from a rare bone aging disorder. They also suggested that a series of genetic mutations were behind its strange features
imperfect and unethical
Another team of experts, however, raises questions about methods and the conclusions of the study of DNA.
in the International Journal of Paleopathology of July 18, Sian Halcrow, of the University of Otago in New Zealand, and his colleagues stated that they could not not find evidence of skeletal abnormalities that the previous Genome study suggested the bizarre features of the mummy.
The researchers argued that many of the paper's findings were filled with a misunderstanding about fetal development.
Halcrow and his colleagues said that the fetus seemed normal for his age, estimated 15 weeks, despite his strange appearance. They also said that the elongated skull could be due to the geological and birth processes that affected the skeleton.
The team also said that genetic study should not have been conducted in the first place, adding that DNA extraction techniques and Nolan Halcrow and his colleagues also said that Stanford scientists did not follow proper protocols for the study of human remains, as protected by the laws of many countries, including Chile.
"There was no scientific justification for undertaking genomic analyzes of Ata because the skeleton is normal, the identified genetic mutations are perhaps a coincidence, and none of them "It is known to be strongly associated with skeletal dysplasias," wrote Halcrow and his colleagues. "In the case of Ata, expensive and lengthy scientific tests using whole genome techniques were useless and unethical."
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