this post was submitted on 25 Apr 2025
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Today I Learned

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[–] VivianRixia@piefed.social 3 points 6 hours ago

Picture you have two cake ingredient sets parsed out. Now you bake them. You will get two almost identical cakes, but they will still end up slightly different.

That's the same with twins and growing up. Same blueprints, but the environment factors, while similar, caused minor changes along the way.

[–] scutiger@lemmy.world 13 points 15 hours ago (1 children)

Fingerprints are epigenetic traits. Twins usually have very similar but not identical fingerprints. They can often be confused for each other, but generally they can be told apart on closer inspection.

[–] mapleseedfall@lemmy.world 7 points 11 hours ago

Can phones tell the difference?

[–] corsicanguppy@lemmy.ca 28 points 19 hours ago

At birth my fingerprints were the same as his. Mom did that thing where she mixed us up and had to take us back to the GP for ID.

I can still unlock his phone 50-50 with my melon but not as often with the fingers.

[–] SplashJackson@lemmy.ca 5 points 17 hours ago

Not so identical then eh?

[–] LodeMike@lemmy.today 8 points 20 hours ago (1 children)

Faces are really the only identifying feature of our bodies that's genetic.

[–] hoshikarakitaridia@lemmy.world 9 points 19 hours ago (2 children)

But why does our fingerprint grow back the same way when we damage our outer skin layer on our fingers? Or does it not?

[–] tehmics@lemmy.world 34 points 19 hours ago* (last edited 19 hours ago) (1 children)

Because it's just the outer layer, and the print is still there. Your new outer skin is just the old under layer.

If you damage your skin enough to remove the fingerprint, it doesn't grow back. There are lots of people without fingerprints due to the types of work they do

[–] Aurenkin@sh.itjust.works 16 points 18 hours ago (1 children)

There are lots of people without fingerprints due to the types of work they do

Exactly, like the Men In Black for example.

[–] tehmics@lemmy.world 9 points 17 hours ago (1 children)

I was thinking more like welders or other trades that abuse their hands

[–] bstix@feddit.dk 1 points 6 hours ago

Fishermen have this issue.

[–] SolOrion@sh.itjust.works 11 points 19 hours ago

They do, but they also might not.

The part of your skin that actually causes your fingerprint is relatively deep into your skin. So it'd need to be a pretty serious injury to permanently change your fingerprint at all.

[–] Blackout@fedia.io 5 points 19 hours ago (1 children)

They're not even identical, they are actually 2 distinct persons. What's the point?

[–] Beldarofremulak@discuss.online 5 points 18 hours ago

Pretty much just siblings now. Way to ruin the magic op