Are all fingerprints truly unique?
Yes. It has to do with how the fingerprints form in the womb. During the first trimester, the fingerprints have already established their permanence and uniqueness.
Aside from forensics and travel, what else are fingerprint scans being used for these days?
More and more, fingerprints are being used in biometric devices to permit secure log-on, to open locks, and for access control in general. The biggest users of biometrics are corporate and private users, but fingerprints also have a long history in the forensics world for criminal identification dating back over a century.
Are current scanners pretty reliable?
The exact rate of print rejection [those that can't be read] depends on the scanner. Ultrasound devices go beyond just the outer layer and capture part of the root system. On average, the rejection rate for [scanned] fingerprints is about 1 to 2 percent.
The patient who was detained for lacking prints had hand–foot syndrome that was caused by his chemotherapy drug. What are some other ways that fingerprints can disappear?
The most prominent of those problems involve bricklayers—who wear down ridges on their prints handling heavy, rough materials frequently—or people who work with lime [calcium oxide], because it's really basic and dissolves the top layers of the skin. The fingerprints tend to grow back over time. And, surprisingly, secretaries, because they deal with paper all day. The constant handling of paper tends to wear down the ridge detail.
Also, the elasticity of skin decreases with age, so a lot of senior citizens have prints that are difficult to capture. The ridges get thicker; the height between the top of the ridge and the bottom of the furrow gets narrow, so there's less prominence. So if there's any pressure at all [on the scanner], the print just tends to smear.
How have people intentionally changed or "disappeared" their fingerprints?
There are many documented cases of intentional fingerprint mutilation, but generally those involve pretty severe damage to the skin—more specifically between the generating layer, where the template of the fingerprint survives, and the upper layer, the epidermis.
Pretty much any cut or burn that goes deeper than the outer layer of the skin can affect the fingerprint pattern in a permanent way. But even with permanent scarring, the new scar becomes a unique aspect of that person's fingerprint.
The first case of documented fingerprint mutilation was in 1934, by Theodore "Handsome Jack" Klutis, who led a gang called the College Kidnappers. When the police finally caught up with him, Klutis went for his gun and the police returned fire, killing him. When they compared his postmortem fingerprints, police found that each of his prints had been cut by a knife, resulting in semicircular scars around each fingerprint. Although it was glorified in the media, it was an amateur job; the procedure left more than enough ridge detail to identify him.
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13 Comments
Add CommentI remember there was an episode of Hawaii 5-0 that dealt with a man without fingerprints. He had worked at an old pineapple cannery for many years and the acid had eventually worn away his fingerprints. I don't know if it's true (it's from a t.v. show after all), but it's interesting.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisLisa,
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisYou are correct - pineapple juice is very acidic and will temporarily damage the outer layer of ridged skin. The same type of damage could occur with simle abrasion. However, the basal (middle) layer of skin will regenerate the entire outer ridged fingerprint in about 30 days. And as stated in the article, even with damage, some fingerprint scanners are made to read through shallow ridges.
-Kasey
I am a 76 year old Caucasian male Brit and I am always dropping things because my fingerprints do not exist. I cannot friction grip, only mechanical grip. Most of my friends of a similar age have the same problem.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI am surprised that the Mericans are unaware of this problem - perhaps the personnel involved were poorly trained.
Sir,
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisNot having yet reached your wise age, I don't have the issue (I wouldn't call it a "problem") of losing elasticity within my fingerprints . The manifestation of this effect in friction ridges is that they lose height compared to the furrows and therefore don't provide as much friction when they contact a non-porous surface. Your fingerprints are still there - they just aren't as prominent in height and therefore your friction ridges lose their effectiveness. Believe me, most American fingerprint examiners (me being one), in fact I would venture to say most fingerprint examiners in the world (no need to be geographically prejudice with this) are well versed in this issue and are aware of how this affects the job of fingerprint examination. But actual fingerprint examiners weren't involved with taking the fingerprints of the gentleman who was denied entry. Border patrol agents are a far cry from fingerprint experts. Besides, he wasn't affected by loss of elasticity of the skin due to well seasoned age, but rather by the effects of the medication. That is why his case has been widely discussed. But I respect and appreciate your interest in the article and the New Scientist.
-Kasey
Hi, I had had a fingerprint-loss problem for very long time. When I was young, every winter, the skin of my fingers and hands would breakdown for unknown reasons. At that time, my hands and fingers would lost their surface layer, and the skin will become hard, rough and uneven. Plus, they would turn to very easy to crack , and hurt. Actually, this phenomenon is very common in my circles. My father, some of my classmates all suffered it very much. My folks call it "hot blood", which means the blood is to hot to burn the skin off. However, it seems to have some relationships with the seasons, because in summers the "hot blood" is very seldom. And maybe the climate also does something with it. My hometown city is a very dry and cold. But, since I moved to another city which is pretty of humidity and warm, this "hot blood" have never returned.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisHi, I had had a fingerprint-loss problem for very long time. When I was young, every winter, the skin of my fingers and hands would breakdown for unknown reasons. At that time, my hands and fingers would lost their surface layer, and the skin will become hard, rough and uneven. Plus, they would turn to very easy to crack , and hurt. Actually, this phenomenon is very common in my circles. My father, some of my classmates all suffered it very much. My folks call it "hot blood", which means the blood is to hot to burn the skin off. However, it seems to have some relationships with the seasons, because in summers the "hot blood" is very seldom. And maybe the climate also does something with it. My hometown city is a very dry and cold. But, since I moved to another city which is pretty of humidity and warm, this "hot blood" have never returned.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisFyi, Its called Raynaud's disease not "Hot Blood Syndrome"
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisWhy is this such a serious indentification issue couldn't the use of iris identification techniques easily replace fingertip identification or is that a more complex procedure?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI am 56 years old and my fingerprints disappeared at least 10 years ago. I am not a cancer patient, a secretary, or a bricklayer. I cannot friction grip and my doctor has no idea wjy I don't have fingerprints.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThere is a great technology out there which uses a Finger Vein Reader to capture an individual's vein pattern. It is completely non invasive, and has a 0.0001% false positive rate.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisIt is true, damaged fingerprints are a very big issue in biometrics. People lose their fingerprints due to a lifetime of using their hands, injury, working with chemicals, or even just age.
This technology, however, is very secure and extremely easy to use! It is also the first (and currently only) of its kind to be offered in North America.
Learn more about finger vein technology. Visit: http://www.m2sys.com/finger-vein-reader.htm
@m2AnastasiaC
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisWhile that sounds like a good false positive rate on the scanner you are advertising, we also need the false negative rate and at least a rough estimate of the rate for attempted break-ins vs authorized users.
Provide said statistics in terms of absolute numbers, as percentages can mislead even people who ought to know better.
http://yudkowsky.net/rational/bayes
this is what kind of justice will put innocent people away and haunt you n the real time
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisalways1playboy
CULLEN MICHAEL HANKERSON 06/29/1969
I'm only 40 and not having the friction grip is driving me crazy! I'm not in any of the mentioned jobs either. What else could cause this? Any solutions to the problem?
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