Tutenkhamen 'Killed by Sickle-Cell Disease'

I found an interesting article in the "New Scientist" magazine online by Jo Marchant.  It states that a team of German archaeologists seem to think there is evidence that Egypt's boy-king was killed by Sickle-Cell Disease, not malaria.  There has been speculations of his death, from falling off a chariot, to murdered by poison, since his body's discovery in 1922, but this has been the best shot yet at determining the young Pharaoh's early demise.  Earlier observations explained that his death at 19 years old was caused by malaria, but these observations can be better explained by the diagnosis of sickle-cell disease.  People with two copies of the sick-cell gene suffer severe anaemia and often die young.  Tutenkhamen's parents were thought to have been related, boosting the chance that they both had the sickle cell gene.  In the young king's case, this could have triggered fatal "sickle cell crisis" in which his essential organs were starved of oxygen.
Members of Egypt's team describe the suggestion as "interesting and plausible" and that they are "currently investigating".  However, collaboration invitations from US teams have been left unresponsive.

http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn19094-tutankhamen-killed-by-sicklecell-disease.html