氣質姐與可愛可

Forensic Firsts　鑑識最前線

                                                                       全民英檢101年施測日程表

　　Just like snowflakes, fingerprints are unique, and no two are exactly the same. They are made from the ridges on the tips of our fingers and thumbs. A baby starts forming its own unique set of fingerprints as early as three months inside its mother. Interestingly, the ridges of one's fingerprints don't change with growth or age and can't be changed by cutting, burning, or scraping. Since the pattern remains as new skin grows, only severe injuries or surgeries can change them.
 

　　The three basic fingerprint patterns include arches, loops, and whorls. These can be passed down from family member to family member. However, they are never the same, not even in twins. That is why fingerprints are the best form of identification and are now commonly used in police investigations.

　　In 1892, a bloody thumbprint was used to help prove that a mother in Argentina had killed her two children. By the 1920s, J. Edgar Hoover, head of the FBI in the US, had set up a national fingerprint database and one of the best forensic labs in the world. For a look into a real-life CSI, don't miss Forensic Firsts on National Geographic Channel this month.