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What determines fingerprints? Is it a random process or is it something inherited from our parents?
Mike Follows
Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands, UK
Fingerprints begin to form in the 10th week of gestation. Some researchers think they are caused by tension between the outer layer of the skin (the epidermis) and the layer underneath it (the dermis), which results in tiny folds in the skin’s surface.
An alternative hypothesis is that their formation might be the result of something called a Turing pattern, driven by biochemistry. Alan Turing is better known for breaking the Nazi Enigma code, but, in…
