"Morgellons Disease" is a condition thought to cause strange fibers to grow in the skin and soft tissue of humans, and is often suggested as an explanation for the strange fibers found inside the bone of the Starchild Skull. The Morgellons fibers in soft tissue are significantly larger than the microscopic fibers found in the Starchild Skull bone. Morgellons fibers found in bone are reportedly different from those found in skin, and are described as "crystalline". Therefore they would not resemble the string-like fibers found in the Starchild Skull bone. While there are some superficial similarities, it seems highly unlikely that the fibers in the Starchild Skull's bone are in any way connected to Morgellons.
Morgellons fibers removed from living tissues fluoresce under UV light (also known as Black Light or Wood's light). Assuming this is also true of Morgellons fibers in dead tissue, simply exposing the Starchild fibers to UV light may prove definitively whether the Starchild fibers are Morgellons related, however this test has not yet been possible due to the microscopic size of the Starchild bone fibers. As resouces become available this test will be considered. Until then, a side by side comparison of the two types of fibers indicate that the Starchild fibers are not Morgellons related.
Starchild Skull bone fibers at
"Morgellons" fibers at approx.
Morgellons Disease is not yet accepted by much of the medical community, despite widespread media attention and thousands claiming to experience symptoms. There is a large body of evidence that it does exist and does cause skin lesions containing strange, usually colorful fibers. According to one 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. It is not yet known what the fibers in the Starchild Skull's bone are made of.
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, it has been impossible to draw a color comparison between the two. However, regardless of color, the differences seem overwhelming.
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 of it and attempting to find an effective treatment. 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. 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.
Many theories about the cause of Morgellons are currently being circulated, but 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 controversially, the result of nanotechnology involving high density polyethylene fibers sanctioned by the FDA for use as a food additive.
(information about Morgellons in the above article was found at these links)