MORGELLONS

LEFT Isolated Morgellons Fibers under unknown magnification.
RIGHT Fibers under app. 60x magnification. Fibers are reported in various colors including red, blue, and green.

STARCHILD

Fibers from the Starchild bone under 350x scanning electron microscope magnification.

We do not know the magnification used or have reliable scales on images of Morgellons' fibers, so there is no way to determine if the Starchild fibers are of a comparable size. However, they seem to be significantly smaller.

A currently unclassified medical condition commonly known as "Morgellons Disease" is a multi-symptomatic condition which, among other things, often manifests as skin lesions with clusters of fibers embedded in the skin. The condition is not yet accepted by the medical community, despite wide-spread media attention and thousands claiming to experience symptoms. According to a recent study, Morgellons fibers appear to be made of high-density polyethylene, a substance commonly used in the manufacture of fiber optics. Other crystalloid structures found in the tissues of Morgellons patients were found to contain silica and silicone.

Many theories about the cause of Morgellons are currently being circulated, but despite the thousands of Americans who believe they suffer from the condition, there is not yet a definitive answer. It has been suggested that Morgellons may be psychosomatic, some sort of parasitic infection, lice, scabies, a skin condition caused by GM cotton or other irritants, and most recently and perhaps most disturbingly, the result of nanotechnology sanction by the FDA for use as a food additive consisting of bacteriophages (viruses that destroy bacteria--in this case harmful bacteria in foods) transported in high density polyethylene fibers.

The Morgellons fibers in soft tissue look somewhat like the fibers in the Starchild's bone, although we have not been able to make a visual comparison to Morgellons fibers found in bone. There are obvious similarities, but at present there is no way to determine if any connection can be made between the Starchild and Morgellons.

There is a basic test that may immediately rule out Morgellons in the Starchild, but until we begin the next phase of testing on the bone, we are unable to perform the test. Morgellons fibers fluoresce under UV (also known as Black Light  or Wood's light), so it is a simple matter of exposing the Starchild fibers to this light and observing the results. We were not aware of this when we have previously had the Starchild's fibers exposed, so we did not run the test. However, the next time we are in that position, we will definitely run this simple, inexpensive check for fluorescence.

While many photographs of Morgellons fibers are in color, all available photographs of the Starchild fibers were taken with a scanning electron microscope which only produces black-and-white images. Thus, we are unable to draw a color comparison between the two. However, regardless of color, there is enough similarity to warrant further consideration, especially considering the wide variety in the types and colors of Morgellons fibers reported. The condition itself was named after a 17th Century ailment described as causing "harsh hairs" in its patients. That description did not describe the fibers as having multiple colors or the "glass-like" appearance that seems to be typical of what is now termed Morgellons.

The condition as it is today was not really known or identified until 2002, when a biologist named Mary Leitao coined the name for the condition and set about improving awareness and attempting to find an effective treatment. Such limited information, combined with the similarities between Morgellons and various parasitic infections, which many Morgellons researchers suggest leads to misdiagnosis, makes it difficult to determine if the Morgellons condition even existed 900 years ago when the Starchild was alive, and, if so, whether it could have produced these fibers.

http://www.dldewey.com/morgel.htm

http://www.cherokeechas.com/faqs.htm

http://abcnews.go.com/Primetime/story?id=2283503&page=1

http://www.morgellons.org/

http://www.dldewey.com/misc/stan.htm