Ability heredity

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

There are many indications in Heroes that the powers that the characters exhibit can be inherited from parents possessing special abilities.

About

Genetic Markers

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.

Using data from the Human Genome Project, he 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 evolved humans in Heroes 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.

Another indication that special powers run in families is the tendency of siblings to have powers, although it does not guarantee powers. Nathan Petrelli and Peter Petrelli are brothers who have powers.

Examples of Inheritance

• Claire Bennet is the daughter of Nathan Petrelli and Meredith Gordon.
• The Haitian is the son of Guillame.
• Matt Parkman is the son of Maury Parkman.
• Nathan and Peter Petrelli are the sons of Angela and Mr. Petrelli.
• Micah Sanders is the son of D.L. Hawkins and Niki Sanders.
• Molly Walker is the daughter of James Walker.

Notes

• Sanjog Iyer has demonstrated special abilities as a child; information about his parents is unknown.
• Janice and Matt Parkman are expecting a child. In 2011, their son Matthew is a "child of interest" to Homeland Security. (Five Years Gone)
• Nathan Petrelli has two sons, but neither of them has demonstrated special abilities.
• Nathan and Peter Petrelli both have powers, but little is known about their parents' possible involvement in this genetic abnormality.
• 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.
• Some fans speculate that Mohinder's sister, Shanti Suresh, 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 powers.
• 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."