Secret and Suppressed: Banned Ideas and Hidden History (58 page)

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—The very tiny object shown below, much like a fragmented crossword in appearance, was recently found in one of our routine chromosome preparations for prenatal diagnosis following amniocentesis. But what is it?

Is it a man-made device? Packing text as binary coded information on the miniature scale (the scale bar is 10pm) would seem advantageous. Or is it a naturally occurring substance? None of the possibilities we have been able to think of would

seem to be appropriate for amniotic fluid, so if anybody is able to suggest an answer to this mystery we would like to have it. We are as intrigued as we are ignorant.

Department of Medical Genetics,

Churchill Hospital, Headington,

Oxford 0X3 7LJ, UK