Ability heredity

Ability heredity
The Hawkins-Sanders family are all evolved humans.

Several evolved humans descend from parents who are also evolved humans, indicating that special abilities may be hereditary.

About

The basic premise behind Chandra Suresh's research is that humans are on the brink of an advance of evolution, and that there are genetic markers in DNA/RNA that can be used to predict the emergence of special abilities.

Genetic Markers

Using data from the Human Genome Project, Dr. Suresh was able to create a list of humans that could possibly exhibit the abilities predicted by his theories. While Chandra was able to find one example, he was unfortunately murdered before he could go public with his discoveries.

Minors with Abilities

While most of the known evolved humans did not discover their special abilities until their 20's or 30's, there are a few examples of children who have demonstrated powers at much younger ages. Most of these children have parents who are also confirmed evolved humans. Observing certain trends in the "passing down" of genes, two minors with powers (Claire Bennet and Micah Sanders) share the common thread of both parents being special. Molly Walker's father James Walker is an evolved human, however nothing much is known about her mother except that Sylar did not remove her brain.

Sanjog Iyer has demonstrated special abilities as a child; information about his parents is unknown. In an alternate future, Janice Parkman's son Matthew (who was was believed to be the son of Matt Parkman) was noted as a "child of interest" to Homeland Security (Five Years Gone). In the present timeline he has an ability that manifiested during the second eclipse and Homeland Security comes after him. Thanks to him restoring part of Hiro's power, Hiro, Ando and Matt Parkman Jr. get away.

Before these children are able to control or understand their abilities, it seems that they are controlled by emotions. For instance, when Alice Shaw is scared, she causes thunderstorms, whilst when she is happy it is sunny. The same is true for Matt Parkman's son.

Siblings and Other Relations

Another indication that special powers run in families is the tendency of siblings to have powers, although it does not guarantee powers. Micah's cousin Monica has revealed special traits. However, for her they did not manifest until her early 20s. Her brother Damon has not exhibited abilities yet.

Nathan Petrelli and Peter Petrelli are brothers who have powers, and both of their parents have abilities. It should be noted that Nathan was given synthetic abilities because his genetic makeup was able to handle it. René and Baron Samedi are also half-brothers, both of whom have abilities, as did their father. Similarly, the twins Maya and Alejandro Herrera are siblings with complementary powers, but information about their relatives is unknown. Debbie and Piper are twins, yet one has an ability while the other does not. Niki, Tracy, and Barbara are estranged triplets, and each was given a different ability, while siblings Flint and Meredith Gordon possess nearly identical abilities.

Uncle/niece relatives Richard Drucker and Hana Gitelman share the same ability of digital communication.

Siblings or children of evolved humans are not guaranteed to have powers of their own. For example, Nathan Petrelli has two sons, but neither of them has yet demonstrated special abilities, nor has Hiro's sister, Kimiko. While Charles Deveaux had an ability, his daughter, Simone, never showed evidence of one. Mohinder's sister Shanti Suresh may have had powers: she had some kind of genetic abnormality, her parents described her as "special", and she inspired her father's research. Mohinder, however, has not shown any evidence of naturally occurring powers.

Examples of Inheritance

Child	Ability	Parents/Grandparents (ability)
Claire Bennet	Rapid cell regeneration	The daughter of Nathan Petrelli (flight (synthetic)) and Meredith Gordon (pyrokinesis) The granddaughter of Angela Petrelli (precognitive dreaming) and Arthur Petrelli (power absorption) The great granddaughter of Mr. Shaw (seismic burst)
Elle Bishop	Electric manipulation	The daughter of Bob Bishop (alchemy)
Jennie Bowman	Fire breathing	The daughter of Gail Bowman and Chris Bowman (both fire breathers)
Monica Dawson	Adoptive muscle memory	The granddaughter of Nana Dawson (unknown)
D.L. Hawkins	Phasing	The son of Paulette Hawkins (ability supercharging)
Jack	Telekinesis	The son of Aviv (telekinesis)
Rachel Mills	Teleportation	The daughter of Leona Mills (life force transferal)
Hiro Nakamura	Space-time manipulation	The son of Ishi Nakamura (healing)
Matt Parkman	Telepathy	The son of Maury Parkman (telepathy)
Matt Parkman, Jr.	Activation and deactivation	The son of Matt Parkman (telepathy) The grandson of Maury Parkman (telepathy)
Nathan Petrelli	Flight (synthetic)	The son of Angela Petrelli (precognitive dreaming) and Arthur Petrelli (power absorption) The grandson of Mr. Shaw (seismic burst)
Peter Petrelli	Empathic mimicry	The son of Angela Petrelli (precognitive dreaming) and Arthur Petrelli (power absorption) The grandson of Mr. Shaw (seismic burst)
Angela Petrelli	Precognitive dreaming	The daughter of Mr. Shaw (seismic burst)
René	Mental manipulation	The son of Guillame (bliss and horror)
Baron Samedi	Impenetrable skin	The son of Guillame (bliss and horror)
Micah Sanders	Technopathy	The son of D.L. Hawkins (phasing) and Niki Sanders (enhanced strength (synthetic)) The grandson of Paulette Hawkins (ability supercharging)
Santiago	Accelerated probability	The son of Edward (accelerated probability) and Iris (pyrokinesis)
Alice Shaw	Weather control	The daughter of Mr. Shaw (seismic burst)
Amanda Strazzulla	Spontaneous combustion	The daughter of Lydia (empathy)
Sylar	Intuitive aptitude	The son of Samson Gray (intuitive aptitude)
Becky Taylor	Invisibility	The daughter of Mr. Taylor (seismic burst)
James Walker	Freezing	The son of Ida May Walker (mediumship)
Molly Walker	Clairvoyance	The daughter of James Walker (freezing) The granddaughter of Ida May Walker (mediumship)

Evolved human Siblings

Evolved human	Ability	Sibling (ability)
Cole	Carbon isolation and formation	The fraternal twin brother of Mykah (silicon manipulation)
Cooper	Electric manipulation	The brother of Toby (Toby's ability)
Evan Davis	Danger sensing	The brother of Josh Davis (shape shifting)
Josh Davis	Shape shifting	The brother of Evan Davis (danger sensing)
Flint Gordon, Jr.	Pyrokinesis	The brother of Meredith Gordon (pyrokinesis)
Meredith Gordon	Pyrokinesis	The sister of Flint Gordon, Jr. (pyrokinesis)
Alejandro Herrera	Alejandro's ability	The fraternal twin brother of Maya Herrera (poison emission)
Maya Herrera	Poison emission	The fraternal twin sister of Alejandro Herrera (Alejandro's ability)
Marc	Health optimizing	The brother of Seal (intuitive empathy and empathy communication)
Mykah	Silicon manipulation	The fraternal twin sister of Cole (carbon isolation and formation)
Nathan Petrelli	Flight (synthetic)	The brother of Peter Petrelli (empathic mimicry)
Peter Petrelli	Empathic mimicry	The brother of Nathan Petrelli (flight (synthetic))
Angela Petrelli	Precognitive dreaming	The elder sister of Alice Shaw (weather control)
René	Mental manipulation	The half brother of Baron Samedi (impenetrable skin)
Baron Samedi	Impenetrable skin	The half brother of René (mental manipulation)
Niki Sanders	Enhanced strength (synthetic)	The estranged triplet* sister of Tracy Strauss (freezing (synthetic))
Seal	Intuitive empathy and empathy communication	The brother of Marc (health optimizing)
Alice Shaw	Weather control	The younger sister of Angela Petrelli (precognitive dreaming)
Tracy Strauss	Freezing (synthetic)	The estranged triplet* sister of Niki Sanders (enhanced strength (synthetic))
Toby	Toby's ability	The brother of Cooper (electric manipulation)

Other Relations Between Evolved Humans

Evolved human	Ability	Relative (ability)
Abu Aswan	Levitation	A distant descendant of Khufu (levitation)
Claire Bennet	Rapid cell regeneration	The niece of Peter Petrelli (empathic mimicry) The niece of Flint Gordon, Jr. (pyrokinesis) The great niece of Alice Shaw (weather control)
Monica Dawson	Adoptive muscle memory	The relative of Paulette Hawkins (ability supercharging) and the cousin of Micah Sanders (technopathy)
Hana Gitelman	Digital communication	The niece of Richard Drucker (electronic communication)
Nathan Petrelli	Flight (synthetic)	The nephew of Alice Shaw (weather control)
Peter Petrelli	Empathic mimicry	The nephew of Alice Shaw (weather control)
Micah Sanders	Technopathy	The nephew* of Tracy Strauss (freezing (synthetic)) and the cousin of Monica Dawson (adoptive muscle memory)

Notes

• Barbara is the other triplet sister of Niki and Tracy, and Micah's aunt, but the ability she was given remains unknown, so she is not included here.
• In a Q&A session, writers Joe Pokaski and Aron Coleite were asked whether or not it's a guarantee that powers are passed on, given that both parents are evolved humans. They answered, "In genetics, nothing is guaranteed. A random mix of traits." In another session they said, "We've seen that the existence of powers may be something passed on, but the powers themselves are a crapshoot of sorts. For example, phase-man + strength-girl = talks to machines."
• To date, Matt Parkman, Sylar, Santiago, Jennie Bowman, Jack, and Abu Aswan are the only evolved humans who have demonstrated what appear to be the same abilities as at least one of their ancestors.
• It is still unclear whether children with the same abilities as their parents have greater ability, or if the power level has anything to do with age.
• Two evolved humans--Julien Dumont and Connie Logan--have a daughter who does not have any known abilities.
• Gael Cruz told Sabine Hazel that the child she carries inside her will have powers (Into the Wild, Part 3). Sabine is a human, and the father of the baby is a clone (who does not have powers), but writers Timm Keppler and Jim Martin said in an interview, "[Sabine's son] would have clone DNA, which the Company may have plans for."

Evolved Human Abilities edit
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