Prints’ Secrets

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指紋形成機制

Fingerprints have been used to identify individuals for centuries. But now scientists may have figured out how these patterns are formed, according to a paper published in the journal Cell.

Previous studies have shown that fingerprints can be influenced by how fast the different layers of skin grow. Denis Headon at the University of Edinburgh, UK, and his colleagues started their study from a new perspective: how genes affect fingerprint patterns. They identified the genes related to limb development, which could serve as the groundwork for print formation, according to their work published in 2022.

However, many genes are not involved during this formation process. “The key is how they are deployed on the anatomy of the hand,” Headon told Nature, a science journal. The team studied the ridges on mouse toes and human cells grown artificially.

They found two kinds of elements work against each other. A protein called WNT, which is important in skin development, stimulates ridge formation. Another molecule, called BMP, inhibits the ridges. With the two elements “fighting” each other, they create the patterns of waves.

幾個世紀以來，人們一直用指紋識別不同的個體。（剩余1450字）