Your fingerprints are certainly different from everyone else on Earth. However, if you and your biological sibling are identical twins, do your fingerprints match?
The swirling patterns and ridges on the fingertips are known as fingerprints, determined by a portion of each person’s genetic makeup. Scientists say that identical twins typically have very similar genetic structures. So, do the fingerprints of these cases match?
Identical twins, also known as monozygotic twins, originate from a single fertilized egg that splits into two during development. As a result, the two individuals have nearly identical genetic information from their parents and look almost exactly alike. They are essentially replicas of each other.
Identical twins do not have exactly the same fingerprints.
However, even though their DNA is almost identical, identical twins do not have the same fingerprints.
Simona Francese, a forensic expert at Sheffield Hallam University in the UK, told Live Science: “Although identical twins share more similarities than two random individuals, their fingerprints are distinct enough for identification.”
No one in the world has the same fingerprints. Francese stated: “The probability of two individuals having identical fingerprints is 1 in 64 billion. To date, no cases of identical fingerprints have been found worldwide.”
Additionally, the fingerprints on each finger are also different. Francese added: “Each finger has a different pattern, resulting in a unique fingerprint.”
So why do identical twins, who have nearly identical DNA, have different fingerprints? Francese explained that DNA is not the only factor influencing fingerprints. While it plays a role in determining the characteristics of a living individual, other environmental factors in the womb also contribute to the development of fingerprints.
Fingerprints are formed between the 13th and 19th weeks of fetal development. The position of the fetus in the womb, access to nutrients, and even the length of the umbilical cord can all affect fingerprints.
After the twins are born, other factors can also cause fingerprints to change. Francese mentioned that these factors could include skin condition, scars, burns, and in rare cases, medications can permanently or temporarily alter the details of a skin area.
