While caving last month I managed to fall on a rock and slice a good chuck out of my thumb. Nothing serious, but a patch of skin about 1 cm2 was totally gone. Watching it heal over the following weeks, I was struck by the fact that my fingerprint grew back in exactly the same pattern.
Now bear with me, because I'm a biology idiot (anyone who knows about the bio component of my doctoral qualifying exams can vouch for that). I know that the information that defines our physical appearance is stored in our DNA, but I sort of figured that a given cell's DNA would mostly describe its own role only.
The fact that my fingerprint grew back must mean that the new cells that grew in the place of the wound were imparted with the information they needed somehow from existing cells. To me this indicates that the information needed for every cell is contained in every other cell, or at least in some "management" cells. But then why does the body not re-grow amputated limbs? Is it simply that the information relating to skin cells has an off-site backup, whereas other cells don't necessarily?
OK, so for the time being let's just say that skin cells know what all other skin cells should "look like." so if I accidentally cut off skin cell A, a new skin cell will replace it and will be more or less genetically identical. The information about what it should "look like" is contained in its DNA, along with the information about what every other skin cell should look like. This means that it must have some means of identifying which part of the whole system it is. Like an identifier string.
Now that would be cool... if every cell had a an ID that was stored internally... then you could identify where on the body a particular skin cell came from in addition to who's body, just by analyzing its DNA.
But what if this idea is crap, and there is no unique identifier for each cell that tells it how to interpret the total-body DNA in its possession? Then something would have to be telling it what to do, either a neighboring cell or some sort of management-from-afar. How would that information be transmitted? If this was the case, then could you intercept the transmission and alter it? Cut off some skin and have the wound grow back with the wrong fingerprint? Have it grow back liver tissue?
Maybe I should stick to physics.
Wasn't there some fugative like in the 30's or something that used acid to burn off his finger prints? I think I remember reading that, like he almost died from it, but he was basically finger print free. Unless it's an urban legend.
Fingerprint ridges are caused by structures that are relatively deep within the skin. It's possible to get rid of your fingerprints if you destroy those unerlying structures. However, the cut you got was not deep enough to affect them, so your ridges grew back the same.
This explains it better than I did;
http://www.policensw.com/info/fingerprints/finger04.html
There was a gangster in the 30's that used acid to burn off his fingerprints but they still grew back after a while.. another in about the same time had a skin graft from his chest grafted on his finger tips and that worked except that the fbi had the prints all the way down to his knuckles and identified him that way. you can burn them off but to do ten fingers would be painfull and noticable. one at a time would work if you can get past the first two. most police depts take your finger prints with a scanner and its taken about two or so inches down so you would have to burn your finger down to the second knuckle holding your finger to metal that is red hot enough to get a third degree burn will do it. if your trying to hide from the law its not the only thing that they identify you with . but going to the camen islands and hideing will after doing this will delay being captured for awaile.