Prompt Cast
The Science and History of Fingerprints
TLDR Fingerprints are unique and formed during fetal development, making them a reliable method of identification. Fingerprint analysis has been used for thousands of years and is now being used for authentication purposes, although there are concerns about security.
Timestamped Summary
00:00
Fingerprints are formed during fetal development and remain the same throughout a person's life, even if the epidermis is damaged.
04:30
Fingerprints are unique and are used as a biometric science to classify and identify people, with a 1 in 64 billion chance of matching exactly with someone else's, making them more unique than DNA.
08:32
Fingerprint authentication is becoming more popular, with rumors that the iPhone 5S will have this feature, but there are concerns about security and the potential for fingers to be cut off for access.
12:34
Fingerprint patterns are categorized into loops, whirls, and arches, and law enforcement also analyzes minutiae, which are further characteristics of these patterns, in order to classify and identify fingerprints.
16:47
There are two types of fingerprints - visible prints that leave an indention in something, and latent prints that are made with the sebum coming out of our fingers, and while fingerprint analysis is subjective and can be unreliable, DNA evidence is becoming more prevalent and widespread.
20:43
Fingerprint analysis has been used for business transactions and identifying children for thousands of years, but it wasn't until the 19th century that fingerprints began to be used for identifying criminals, with the development of a classification system by Henry Faulds and Sir Francis Galton.
24:38
In the late 19th century, a police officer in Argentina used fingerprinting to convict a criminal for the first time, and in 1893, Sir Edward Henry developed the Henry classification system, which is still used today in fingerprint analysis.
28:58
The FBI created the integrated APHIS system in 1999, which combined all fingerprint databases into one, allowing for faster and more comprehensive searches, and now one in six Americans have their fingerprints on file in the system.
33:07
The host concludes the episode by mentioning a listener's charity bike ride, Pelotonia, which raises money for cancer research at the James Cancer Center at Ohio State University.
37:23
The host mentions a listener's charity bike ride and encourages people to donate to support the cause.
Categories:
Society & Culture
