Originally posted by OldCorp
I apologize if someone has already brought this up - I skipped to the end after reading the first two pages and had an epiphany of my own:
What about the chromosomes? If this "Starchild" was the product of an alien father and a human mother, surely the number of chromosomes would be different. Even in humans that positively have two human parents, we see the number of chromosomes differing from the norm with genetic abnormalities like Down's Syndrome. I would think that in a creature whose mtDNA is as different as is being claimed, then the chromosomes would also be affected in a MAJOR way.
***Three hours after writing the above bit***
After googling all night, and brushing up on my microbiology, I have come to the conclusion that there is no way to determine the number of chromosomes that were present in this skull. I am leaning towards a totally terrestrial condition such as progeria or hydrocephaly to provide the explanation for the shape of this skull.
Thanks for the gray matter workout though. I'd forgotten how much I'd forgotten about microbiology since college.
Originally posted by seenitall
reply to post by Harte
mtDNA can be differentiated from what people consider to be the normal human genome. If memory serves me correctly, it is a remnant of a endosymbiotic bacteria that contains genes essential to mitochondrial functions within a cell.
It does not recombine when a child is conceived, and is passed down the maternal line.
I'm not saying this is definetely real, but the science adds up.
To add: It is only made up of around 16,500 base pairs. So 800-1200 is an absolutely HUGE difference.
They have the science right, but I guess you have to question whether the data is actually real.
DNA testing in 1999 at BOLD, a forensic DNA lab in Vancouver, British Columbia found standard X and Y chromosomes in two samples taken from the skull, "conclusive evidence that the child was not only human (and male), but both of his parents must have been human as well, for each must have contributed one of the human sex chromosomes".[8] Further DNA testing at Trace Genetics, which specializes in extracting DNA from ancient samples, in 2003 recovered mitochondrial DNA from both skulls. The child belongs to haplogroup C. Since mitochondrial DNA is inherited exclusively from the mother, it makes it possible to trace the offspring's maternal lineage. The DNA test therefore confirmed that the child's mother was a Haplogroup C human female. However, the adult female found with the child belonged to haplogroup A. Both haplotypes are characteristic Native American haplogroups, but the different haplogroup for each skull indicates that the adult female was not the child's mother.[1]
