In your article on fingerprints, Stephen Meagher is quoted as saying: "individual fingerprints are effectively unique" (17 September, p 6). Can this be true? Wouldn't identical twins also have identical fingerprints?
The editor writes:
• Although identical twins share the same genes they do not have identical fingerprints. That's because the shape of the whorls and arches on our fingers are determined both by genes and the local environment around the dividing skin cells. So a twin's individual position in the womb will cause slight differences.
To continue reading this article, subscribe to receive access to all of newscientist.com, including 20 years of archive content.