As summer sets in and swimming season kicks off, you might notice a familiar sight: your fingertips turning wrinkly after a long soak in water. But what may seem like a simple quirk of nature is actually a complex biological response — and it’s more consistent and significant than you might think.It’s Not Just Skin SwellingFor a long time, people assumed that "pruney" fingers were just a result of water making the skin swell. But Guy German, a biomedical engineering professor at Binghamton University (State University of New York), has found otherwise. According to German, the wrinkling is caused by blood vessels under the skin constricting, not the skin absorbing water.This reaction is part of a natural nervous system response and has evolved to possibly improve grip in wet conditions — think of it as nature’s own anti-slip mechanism.Do the Wrinkles Always Look the Same?That’s the question that sparked the latest round of research. German had already explored the phenomenon back in 2023. But when a student asked whether these wrinkles always formed the same way, he realized no one had ever looked into that specific detail.This curiosity led to a new study published in the Journal of the Mechanical Behavior of Biomedical Materials. Working with graduate student Rachel Laytin, German set out to test whether wrinkle patterns were repeatable.Participants soaked their fingers in water for 30 minutes, had their wrinkles photographed, and then repeated the experiment at least a day later. The results showed that the patterns — loops, ridges, and furrows — consistently reappeared in the same way.Why the Patterns Stay the SameThe explanation lies beneath the skin. “Blood vessels don’t change their position much,” said German. “They move a bit, but in relation to other vessels, they’re mostly static. That means the wrinkles should form the same way — and they do.”In other words, the architecture of your vascular system shapes your wrinkle pattern like a biological blueprint.What Happens When Nerves Are Damaged?One unexpected discovery was that some people don’t wrinkle at all — specifically, those with median nerve damage in their hands. In one case, a student volunteered that they had such damage. When tested, their fingers showed no wrinkling after soaking.This lack of response confirms that the wrinkling process is neurologically driven — not just a passive reaction to water.Implications for ForensicsThe research has potential applications beyond the pool. Forensic investigators, for example, could use wrinkle patterns to help identify bodies that have been exposed to water or assist in fingerprint analysis where traditional methods might fail.German, whose father was a police officer, says the work feels personally relevant. “Biometrics and fingerprints are built into my brain,” he shared. “This stuff is just fascinating.”With so much still unknown about skin and its responses, German and his team are excited to keep digging into the science. “I feel like a kid in a candy store,” he said. “There’s so much here that I don’t know — and that’s the fun part.”