Originally Posted by Raiden
Yes, to both.
It all depends on where, precisely, the DNA from the na'vi donor and the human donor winds up.
It could be that since the people who run the project probably only care about looks and more important physiological functions (eating, breathing, sleeping, etc.) and that people who are sexually active are supposed to be filtered out by psychological tests (Ashen Key, you'd know more about this. I seem to remember something like this being canon, but that's your area.), the people who make them don't pay any attention to what happens to their gametes.
Basically, it doesn't matter what kind of...uh..."equipment" Jake has, it only matters what kind of DNA is being transmitted in his gametes. If he gives Neytiri gametes that carry 100% Na'vi DNA, and assuming that the chromosomes in his gametes cross over correctly during meiosis (or whatever is comparable for a na'vi), then yes, Jake's children will look 100% na'vi, and have no traces of human DNA anywhere.
As for the second question, yes, if the children that Jake has for some reason have human DNA (which means that the DNA in Jake's gametes would have to have some human DNA in them), there is a chance that his children would be hybrids at some level, and they might not have functional gametes.
However, if the first scenario is the case, then no, Jake's children will be able to make more normal na'vi children when they grow up, and Jake will be nothing more than a tiny blip in a sea of normal na'vi genes.
A bit of background to help clear things up (and assuming that the na'vi have comparable comparable reproductive physiology to humans); when placental mammals mate, they exchange gametes (sex cells; sperm and eggs).
The genes given to gametes (or their precursors, rather) when a fetus is forming are different than the genes given to somatic cells (everything but sex cells). When the mammal in question reaches sexual maturity, the precursors begin dividing into mature gametes. The precursor divides once, and the division of the cell is normal, except for one *very* important thing; the chromosomes (bundles of genes; a gene is a certain section of DNA that codes for something. In order of "packaging": DNA > Genes > Chromosomes) split, and so the normal 46 chromosomes for a human is split into 32, and we have two cells. Then, each cell splits again, and forms four mature sperm cells (egg cells are a little different, but for our purposes, this is fine). This is "crossing over"; the DNA in the precursor cell is split randomly when the chromosomes are split in half, and it account for the differences between siblings and certain types of twins.
So, since Jake is a combination of Human and Na'vi DNA, I think it is possible that when the avatar embryo was forming, it, for whatever reason, delegated Na'vi genes to the cells that would form the gamete precursors, in which case Jake could make normal Na'vi children.
This is even more possible, as I said above, if the people who controlled the distribution of Jake's DNA didn't bother with the DNA for his gametes, and let Na'vi genes go there, because the people selected for Avatar drivers that wouldn't go mating with Na'vi females (Jake probably didn't get screened, since his deal was "under the table").
If they did control this part of the embryo formation, then Jake might not make viable children, or even have gametes that are compatible with Neytiri's eggs.
...Whew... @___@
That may have been a bit redundant, but I've been thinking about this for almost a year, and I've been waiting for a chance to see what other people think of my theories.
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04-08-2011, 11:38 PM
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