Our Fingerprints: Caught Red-Handed

Our fingerprints are very special. You might have the same eye color as someone else, the same shaped nose and, if you’re an identical twin, you might even have a face that looks the same, but not a single person on earth has the same fingerprints as you.

Fingerprints are the patterns on the pads of your fingers made by tiny ridges in the outer layer of your skin, called the epidermis. These ridges help you get a better grip on smooth things. This is particularly important if you’re climbing trees and swinging between branches. All primates, including monkeys and apes, have fingerprints.

Most importantly, fingerprints help to catch criminals. Dactyloscopy is the use of fingerprints to identify people and it has been used by police for more than a hundred ears.

Every time you touch something you leave sweat and oil prints which are the same pattern as your fingerprints. Criminals often leave very clear fingerprints because the stress of carrying out a crime causes them to sweat more than usual.

While this fingerprints are usually invisible, police can make them visible by dusting them with a fine powder or spraying them with fine chemicals.

Once a fingerprint is developed, it can be compared with images on police files. When comparing fingerprints, police look for particular patterns called arches, loops and whorls.

Many famous crimes have been solved using fingerprints. Unlike people, fingerprints don’t lie.