Fingerprints:Why we have them, Why we need them!

CBC News

The study, published in Friday's edition of Nature, suggests that fingerprints may help perceive very fine textures more efficiently. Specifically, fingerprints can tune out vibrations outside a certain frequency so only very specialized touch receptors can pick them up.

These receptors, called Pacinian fibres, are involved in detecting fine features. But they also have the lowest spatial resolution of any of the receptors involved in touch. This means that, taken alone, they are the least able to distinguish between two closely spaced pressure points, a characteristic that appears to be a contradiction for a receptor involved with fine touch, the study says.