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A Closer LookIn 2005, scientists under the direction of Egyptian archeologist Zahi Hawass used new and moreeffective X-ray technology to study the mummy. They discovered that the damage to Tut%u2019s chest was caused by Howard Carter, and the hole in Tut%u2019s skull was made when embalmers4 were preparing the body for burial. While thisruled outone theory%u2014that of murder%u2014it still doesn%u2019t tell us exactly how he died.Then, in 2008, Hawass and his teamanalyzed Tut%u2019s DNA. They found that he suffered from flat feet as well as a bone disease: This would have made it difficult for him to walk. When they analyzed the DNA of the mummies in other tombs nearby, they made some shocking discoveries. They found Tut%u2019s father and mother, who had similar DNA, were actually brother and sister. The DNA they passed on to Tut may have left him highlyvulnerable to disease, such as malaria.5 Did an infection that started in his fractured leg%u2014added to the bone disease%u2014cause his death? No one knows for sure. But Hawass and his team hope they will someday have an answer to this age-old mystery.DE4Embalmers are people who prepare a body for burial.5Malariais a serious disease that is carried by mosquitoes.Through CT scans of King Tut%u2019s mummy, scientists are learning more and more about how the boy-king lived, and how he might have died.40Unit 3A