Gene Mutation Can Leave People Without Fingerprints, Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center Study

People with a rare condition where they are born without fingerprints may have a genetic mutation, according to a new study. The findings, published in the Aug. 4 online edition of the American Journal of Human Genetics, could shed light on how fingerprints are formed as well as how genetic mutations can help uncover unknown aspects of human biology, the researchers pointed out. "We know that fingerprints are fully formed by 24 weeks after fertilization and do not undergo any modification throughout life," the study's senior author, Dr. Eli Sprecher from Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center in Israel, said in a journal news release.