FINGERPRINTLESS

There's a rare disease in our world of anomalies that can actually erase the fingerprints of a person! Sufferers of a rare congenital diseases, Dermatopathia Pigmentosa Reticularis (DPR) have absolutely no fingerprints. DPR is so rare that the Maynards were the only family in the world known to carry the genetic defect. The condition is passed down through the female side of the family. People that suffer from DPR can also have extremely thin hair, brittle, ridged nails and mottled skin.

Researchers at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology found that the same genetic mutation causes both Naegeli syndrome and DPR. The mutation produces a defect in the protein keratin 14 (KRT14) and prevent KRT14 from playing its normal role in preventing cell death. In a world that is increasingly conscious of security and of proof of identity, not having fingerprints can be a big problem. So far, there's no treatment yet.