Waves of chemical signals spread across developing fingers, creating one-of-a-kind patterns of ridges
No two fingerprints are exactly the same. That’s what makes them so useful for police and smartphones to positively identify people. Previous research has shown genes play a role in how the complex pattern of grooves and bumps on our fingertips form, so why don’t identical twins have identical fingerprints?
A new study reveals that three families of signaling molecules—along with slight differences in the shape of the finger and the timing of skin growth—all interact to create our unique variations.
