Human-Vulcan Children

[JadziaKathryn]

I think we'll all be happier if we discuss more TnT and less controversial social issues. So, here goes:
Would a human-Vulcan baby be different depending on which parent was human and which was Vulcan? Would Trip and T'Pol's child(ren) be different than Spock because of that? Consider a horse-donkey "child." Wikipedia's entry for mule:

In its common modern meaning, a mule is the offspring of a male donkey and a female horse, which is classified as a kind of F1 hybrid. The reverse, the offspring of a male horse and a female donkey, is called a hinny.

Would the same kind of thing apply to humanoids?

[TSara]

Hmmm... I don't know.

I do think however that the Vulcan genes would be more predominate than the human ones.

I don't think I've seen a hybrid Vulcan-Human who didn't look more Vulcan than Human on any of the trek series.


At least not in Canon....could be wrong though.

[hth2k]

Gad, thinking back to last genetics segement in early college bilogy 101.

Sweeps some cobwebs out of the way.

Some genes are dominant and some are recessive. Refer to Mendels studies.

Perhaps some characteristics of each species would be dominant depending on the specific gene sequence and arraingement, This may vary from individual to individual.

Bottom line is I don;t know but would suggest there would be a certain amount of variation depending on specific sharacteristics and the genes passed to the offspring.

HtH

[Asso]

JadziaKathryn asked (regarding the fact that the offspring of a male horse and a female ass and the offspring of a female horse and a male ass are different):
Would the same kind of thing apply to humanoids?

There is no answer, in the real scientific knowledge.
We humans never met other humanoids, with a different genetic code.

However, thinking that in the Fiction the offspring of a male Human-female Vulcan couple or of a male Vulcan-female Human couple is a hybrid with an appearance more Vulcan than Human, but with the terrible (and dangerous and fascinating) force of the human feelings, well, is intriguing.

And, another thing.
We and the Vulcans are not so different and, perhaps, we are even superior to them: we coexist with our feelings; they have to suppress, in order that they can avoid the psychological destruction. And so? Perhaps their genes, too, are not dominating.

[evcake]

Would they look different, do you mean? I've never seen a hinny, but I've seen mules, and they look pretty similar in photos.

[blacknblue]

I kind of doubt it, since the children would be the product of intelligent beings who have access to modern medical technology, including gene splicing.

[Kevin Thomas Riley]

I kind of doubt it, since the children would be the product of intelligent beings who have access to modern medical technology, including gene splicing.

Agreed! Since the only conceivable way for a Human and an alien to have offspring would be through a form of genetic engineering (which raises the related but never answered question how this can co-exist in a Trekverse that looks down on "augments"), I suppose they could pick and choose the genes they wanted in each case.

[panyasan]

I always wondered about how the docters deal with the different kind of blood if let say a Vulcan mother with copper based blood is having a child with human blood. I mean, when a human mother has a negative blood type and the husband positive blood, then the mother gets a treatment before birth, just in case the child has positive blood and the negative blood cells will have a negative effect on the baby. So it seems that different based blood is even a bigger problem....

[TPoptarts]

^ Suppress her immune system? (well at least in one of my yet unfinished fics that's kinda what I wrote )

Well and I'm sure they have the technology to make the mother and baby compatible like not only blood-wise, Kira was pregnant with a human baby that wasn't even hers and like they gave her something so that the baby would be able to absorb like Bajoran nutrients.

And Amanda Grayson was pregnant with a green blooded Spock and her blood didn't start developing like antibodies on him

[Complicated]

Would a human-Vulcan baby be different depending on which parent was human and which was Vulcan? Would Trip and T'Pol's child(ren) be different than Spock because of that?

Doesn't that also depend on the gender of the child? in relation to which parent is Vulcan or human?
So hypothetically, Spock would be different from Lorian, because Spock's father was the Vulcan one, whereas Lorian's mother was his vulcan source for genes....which makes me think this is why Lorian could smile, but Spock could not...although I doubt the writers thought about it when writing that episode....
But the difference would be even more complicated if we compare Spock to any daughter T'Pol and Trip may have had....the number of genetic combinations increases....and we would have many more possible cases.....
Very intriguing question though....It makes me wonder whether any Trek book has ever answered it....

[TPoptarts]

^ Oh Spock could smile alright... he just chose to dedicate himself to the Vulcan way. Like Lorian said

I wasn't raised with the same inhibitions most Vulcans have. My human side has allowed me to find a balance between emotion and logic. I've even been known to tell a joke on occasion.

I think Spock and Lorian's differences in that aspect have to do with like upbringing and stuff not their genetic makeup.

[JadziaKathryn]

I think Spock and Lorian's differences in that aspect have to do with like upbringing and stuff not their genetic makeup.

That makes sense. Spock was raised on Vulcan, Lorian on a human (and a couple other emotional species) starship.

Hmm, with the mothers and antibodies, though - could that be a bigger problem with the second child? It is with positive/negative blood today, isn't it?

[TPoptarts]

^ Yep. It's like if the mother has a negative blood type and the first child is positive, then like the first time is like the first exposure to like any antigen at first it's new to the body so the immune system is less effective against it and so if it's like the first pregnancy with a positive baby it can actually be okay, but the next time the immune system remembers the antigen and it's like way quicker and efficient against it.

My mother has a negative blood type and she didn't have any problems being pregnant with my sister who has a positive blood type, but after that she had problems she had 2 miscarriages because of the blood type issue, but with my 2 other sisters she received like treatment for it during the pregnancy. Well and I have a negative blood type so I didn't give her any problems. (But I'm the one she hates )

[Heh yet another reason for me to never have kids think of all the needles they'd have to stick in me. Ugh. I hate needles ]

[justTripn]

I hate it in fanfic where the Vulcan-Human child of Trip and T'Pol automatically speaks in stilted formal Vulcan style, although he or she is surrounded by human peers.

[Elessar]

I can see what you mean if they grow up around humans...but it's so CUTE!