Science Buddies: "Ask an Expert"

I am doing a project on fingerprints. When I tested my family, the type was all the same, but when I tested other families, the types were all different. Is this unusual?

Hi,

It is not unusual for all members of your family to have the same fingerprint types, as the fingerprint is largely genetically determined. See the following sites:

https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science- ... p009.shtml

http://www.madsci.org/posts/archives/19 ... .Me.r.html

http://www.newton.dep.anl.gov/askasci/m ... e00288.htm

Great question!

Barrett Tomlinson

In addition to the great statement made by barretttomlinson,
Fingerprints are yet to be determined for effective use by our human bodies. They stem from our DNA, which explain why your fingerprints are similar to your parents and yet are different from other's. Fingerprints resolve from the noncoding segments of DNA called the introns, meaning they are not translated into necessary proteins. Yet, humans have found use for these fingerprints for use in data, track records, and identification.

Some additional sites that may help you are:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fingerprint

http://safety-identification-products.c ... ation.html

http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/ ... skanexpert