"Doctors from Japan from Tokyo's Waseda University were thwarted in 2000 in their request to take a sample of DNA from King Tut's mummy. The Egyptian government's supreme council of antiquities, after originally agreeing, reversed its decision.

No reason was given for the decision."

My opinion on that decision and perhaps why it was given, is as follows:

The CT scan done in 2005 of the mummy of the Pharaoh Tutankhamun shows features often found in Kleinfelter Syndrome. These people are phenotypically male with two X and one Y chromosomes (47,XXY). This abnormality occurs about once in 1000 births.

Some of the symptoms are: small penis, small firm testicles, diminished pubic, axillary and facial hair, sexual dysfunction, enlarged breast tissue (called gynecomastia), tall stature, abnormal body proportions (long legs, short trunk), learning disabilities and personality impairment.

Humans have 46 chromosomes, which contain all of a person’s genes and DNA. Two of these chromosomes, the sex chromosomes, determine a person’s gender. Both of the sex chromosomes in females are called X chromosomes. (This is written as XX.) Males have an X and a Y chromosome (written as XY). The two sex chromosomes help a person develop fertility and the sexual characteristics of their gender.

Klinefelter syndrome results in males who have at least one or two extra X chromosome. Usually, this occurs as a result of one extra X (written as XXY). Klinefelter syndrome is found in about 1 out of every 500-1,000 newborn males. Women who have pregnancies after age 35 are slightly more likely to have a boy with this syndrome than younger women which adds to the debate on not just who Tut's father was but the age of his mother. During cell division, DNA is replicated and can be transmitted to offspring during reproduction. Lineage studies can be done based on the facts that the mitochondrial DNA only comes from the mother, and the male Y chromosome only comes from the father.

Some people with Klinefelter syndrome have 48, 49, or 50 plus chromosomes. All of the extra chromosomes are Xs. It is highly likely that Tutankhamun has 50 or more. Males with several extra X chromosomes have distinctive facial features, more severe retardation, deformities of bony structures, and even more disordered development of male features. Tut's mummy displays that he has an exagerated overbite - a typical characteristic of other kings of his presumed family. He has a slight cleft palate which although it did not cause facial deformities during his life, it left him with this extra large overbite and a slightly misaligned lower jaw. Every person's DNA including Tuts, their genome, is inherited from both parents. The mother's mitochondrial DNA together with twenty-three chromosomes from each parent combine to form the genome of a zygote, the fertilized egg. As a result, with certain exceptions such as red blood cells, most human cells contain 23 pairs of chromosomes, together with mitochondrial DNA inherited from the mother.

The mummy of Pharaoh Tutankamum is in 13 pieces, consisting of seperate blocks. The majority of this damage to the corpse was caused by Howard Carter and his team upon opening the sarcophagus. Now, it is in a critical condition, so any mistake in extracting the DNA samples may destroy the already fragile remains. Scrupulous adherence to good laboratory practice can reduce the chance of introducing modern DNA to the findings, but only the weight of numerous successful studies will overcome the resistance of the SCA that is based on the idea that DNA cannot survive mummification of several thousand years. This is based upon the premise that DNA naturally degrades chemically at a predictable rate. This has been investigated and it is clear that the rate of DNA degradation in mummyfying solutions is different from that seen under normal conditions that allow DNA to naturally survive thousands of years.
I argue that it would prove impossible to establish Tut's lineage by examining the DNA samples because all cells including those in the teeth would died many years ago and they are contaminated by the resin liquids and materials used in mummification, as well as natural erosion factors. Any DNA test done on the pharaoh will mean the breaking of his jaw to allow access to the kings teeth in the body only give science a forty percent chance for error of establishing his parentage. Because of the apparent Klinefelter symptoms which breaks down the molecular structure of DNA by attacking the protein present in the DNA's ammino acids - this 40% drops to approximately 20% and 20% is not worth a broken jaw to what is not just a priceless artifact, but a person who should be left in peace.

The question on Tut's parentage will remain closed - until either the Supreme Council of Antiquities reverses their decision and why should they for extreemly limited results, or some other fragment of information regarding the subject is found. Who Tutankhamun's parents were is one of those questions that's up there with the whereabouts of the Holy Grail... and to answer that one, one simply has to find out who did the washing up after the last Supper.

Scources:
1) Hummel, S., Herrmann, B., Rameckers, J., Muller, D., Sperling, K. Neitzel, H., and Tonnies, H. 1999. Proving the authenticity of ancient DNA by comparative genomic hybridization. Naturwissenschaften 86:500-503. 2) Paabo, S. 1985. Molecular cloning of ancient Egyptian mummy DNA. Nature 314:644-645. 3) http://www.mummytombs.com/news/2005/2.egypt.kingtut.dna.htm