The patterns on the fingertips form by about the sixth month of fetal development - and remain unchanged throughout life. Their function in the body is not precisely defined. One theory is that they improve the grip of the fingers on the subject; other studies suggest that they increase sensitivity to touch.
Are there people without such a pattern? Well, are they like in the picture?
This is the kind of riddle presented to scientists by people who have been deprived of prints since birth. In 2007, dermatologist Peter Itin met a woman with perfectly smooth finger pads. Doctors were aware of a similar problem, but until that moment it was considered a manifestation of a rare genetic abnormality - the Franceschetti-Jadasson-Negeli syndrome (baldness and rough, dry skin are also characteristic of its carriers).
However, the woman Echin met had no such symptoms. Dr. Itin, along with colleagues from the Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, began research.
It turned out that eight members of this girl's family also had no fingerprints. By 2011, four families were found with this unusual distinction. All of them were characterized by the presence of a mutation in the SMARCAD1 gene: a shorter version of the gene does not allow the formation of prints at the embryonic stage. The genetic abnormality is called adermatoglyphia.
Extensive research has shown that people with adermatoglyphia also have reduced sweat cells in their skin, but they do not have significant health problems.
However, its carriers have other difficulties. They, for example, cannot be fingerprinted when crossing the border; this is how his patient got to Dr. Itin (she, a native of Switzerland, had problems entering the United States). Therefore, dermatoglyphia is also referred to as immigration delay disease.
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