Tiny skeleton was girl with bone disease

MIAMI - The discovery in 2003 sparked international intrigue - a tiny, mummified skeleton with an alien-like head, tucked into a leather pouch found behind a church in the Atacama desert of Chile.

The notion that it was an extra-terrestrial was long ago debunked, but researchers said last week they have gleaned new insights from a full genetic analysis of the skeleton, nicknamed "Ata".

It belonged to an infant girl with a handful of rare gene mutations linked to dwarfism, deformities and apparent premature aging, said the study in Genome Research.