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Scientists Wonder What Fingerprints Are For
Hugh Pickens writes "The BBC reports that scientists say they have disproved the theory that fingerprints improve grip by increasing friction between people's fingers and the surface they are holding. Dr Roland Ennos designed a machine which enabled him to measure the amount of friction generated by a fingerprint when it was in contact with an acrylic glass at varying levels of pressure. The results showed that friction levels increased by a much smaller amount than had been anticipated, debunking the hypothesis that fingerprints provide an improved grip. Ennos believes that fingerprints may have evolved to grip onto rough surfaces, like tree bark; the ridges may allow our skin to stretch and deform more easily, protecting it from damage; or they may allow water trapped between our finger pads and the surface to drain away and improve surface contact in wet conditions. Other researchers have suggested that the ridges could increase our fingerpads' touch sensitivity."
It's obvious fingerprints were designed by our creator to help the Police catch murderers.
I also love how they never counterweight their centrifuges.
Then we invented lube
Agreed. I'm not a scientist and to me the answer is as obvious as it is to you.
It is clearly a case of aliens genetically modifying the species to easily identify individuals; we do the same in tagging wildlife.
Sorry.
I'll get my coat.
In a survey of 100 programmers, 111111 thought that duck-typing was a good idea.
Hi 120795, I'm 939458. It's very nice to meet you.
Can I bum a sig?
Not everything has to have a purpose.
Sometimes parents can be mean.
Can I bum a sig?
I can't tell you how many times I've been out back, trying to climb up my giant sheet of plexiglass, wondering why I just can't seem to get a good grip.
Now I know! Thank you, "scientists"!
Depends. Do monitor lizards climb walls and get pulled off by Hulks? If so, probably both.
A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it well worth the effort.
Celestial barcodes. The gods are thinking of moving towards an RFID based solution but for now it works.
Yes we did. The better you can hold your glass, the more alcohol you are able to drink. The more alcohol you drink, the more likely you are to end up with some ugly girl who also was able to drink herself unconscious.
Now imagine that you would drop your glass before you are at that point. You would never be drunk enough to go with THAT girl and she won't go home with YOU.
Without fingerprints, we would be extinct by now.
Don't fight for your country, if your country does not fight for you.
Picking your nose seems like a good enough reason.
Some drink at the fountain of knowledge. Others just gargle.
Perhaps they helped attract mates?
And all this time I thought the fingerprints evolved for gripping the modern day equivalent of tree branches: subway straps and bus door handles.
WARNING: Smartphones have side effects--most of them undocumented.
Other than that they serve no other purpose, like wasps.
Hey, if it weren't for WASPs, who would shop at The Gap or Banana Republic? Who would buy purse-sized dogs? And who would keep psychotherapists and badminton set manufacturers in business?
Stop-Prism.org: Opt Out of Surveillance
More accurately, the rainbow was representative of the promise that God would never again destroy the whole earth with water. We get fire next time.
Since we were genetically engineered by an extraterrestrial civilization they designed fingerprints in our DNA so that they could catalog us for later use.
Depends who you vote for.
He's either in the White House, or he just left it. DrrrTISH.
Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
I'm posting from a Commodore 64, you insensitive clod.
== Jez ==
Do you miss Firefox? Try Pale Moon.
Fingerprints would probably evolve away within a few generations if people didn't need the increased friction on the iPod click wheel.
When you hold your hands together and pray, the fingerprints sign the prayer so God knows who it came from. That is why you hold your hands in front of your face in the usual pose. The prayer passes over both hands on it's way to God.