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Defective gene can strip you of fingerprints
Tuesday September 20, 2011 08:35:48 AM,
IANS
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Washington: Like DNA,
fingerprints are unique to every individual. But what happens when
your fingertips do not have those distinctive ridges?
Though an exceptionally rare condition -- only four documented
families are known to suffer from the disease worldwide,
adermatoglyphia inspired a Tel Aviv professor to delve deeper into
the causes of the condition and isolate the gene behind it.
Adermatoglyphia is also known as "Immigration Delay Disease"
because such individuals face hurdles at security barriers or
checkpoints where fingerprint is required.
Eli Sprecher of Tel Aviv University's Sackler Faculty of Medicine
has identified the genetic mutation responsible for this unusual
condition, the American Journal of Human Genetics reports.
Sufferers of adermatoglyphia, Sprecher explains, were found to
have decreased levels of the short skin-specific version of the
gene SMARCAD1, according to a Tel Aviv statement.
"Immigration Delay Disease" came to the attention of the medical
community when it did just that - delay the attempts of one Swiss
woman to cross the border into the US, which requires that
non-citizens be fingerprinted upon entry.
Border control personnel were mystified when the woman informed
them that she was unable to comply.
Abnormal fingerprints can also be a warning sign of more severe
disorders.
Scientists know that fingerprints are fully formed 24 weeks after
fertilization, and do not change throughout our lives.
Sprecher adds that it isn't only fingertips that have patterned
skin -- palms, toes, and the soles of the feet also feature these
ridges, called dermatoglyphs.
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The 27th of
Ramadan (August 26, 2011 this year), "Laylet al-Qadr" (Night
of Power), is one of the holiest nights of the Islamic
calendar, the night when the Quran began to be revealed to the
Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him). Millions from around the
world visit the Grand Mosque in Makkah from all over the world
and pray over the night. |
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