| The Saiya-Jins are a very mysterious race of aliens. Here I am going to try and explain a little about them through genetics. On the surface they are almost identical to humans. There are only a few minor differences, which would account for around 0.0001% of their DNA being different to ours. I will talk about these differences next. The Tail The most obvious difference that Saiyan-Jins have to humans is their possession of a tail. Over the course of evolution, humans lost their tails, having no use for them. But the Saiya-Jins remained with their tail intact. It wasn't just a 5th limb for the Saiya-Jins however; when a weak Saiya-Jin's tail is grabbed hard they lose all of their strength. The only explanation for this is that in the tail the nerve fibres must be so close to the surface that when squeezed they are unable to transmit messages, much in the same way that pressure points work. As the tail is attached to the spinal column it is the same as paralysis. The tail also has another interesting feature, as Vegeta himself mentioned, the tail has a gland inside it, and when 17 million zeno units per second of green spectrum radiation are absorbed through the eyes from a full moon, it sets off a reaction in the gland causing the Saiya-Jin transformation. The gene for the tail can be passed onto Saiya-Jin Human hybrids, e.g.: Gohan. However it is not always so, as in the cases of Goten, Trunks and Bra, they were born with out tails, meaning that the gene for having a tail from Goku and Vegeta was overridden by Chi Chi and Bulma's gene for not having a tail. This is also true for Pan, but because she is only � Saiya-Jin, the chances of her being born with a tail were even slimmer. Transformations The Saiya-Jin transformations are one of the most interesting things about the race. It seems to be a genetic characteristic, which is buried deep within every Saiya-Jin. As you will probably know it triggered by extreme emotion, which is like when we cry, the tear ducts are activated by hormones sent by the brain at certain times. The same will be true for the Saiya-Jins, when they experience times of extreme emotion their brain will send a chemical message to "turn on" the Super Saiya-Jin gene. The necessary transformation only occurs however when the power level is high enough. As it is the chi of the Saiya-Jin, which accounts for the trademark appearance of the Saiya-Jin, golden hair, green eyes, etc. The gene is only accountable for the actual power spike that happens at the time of transformation. Just like adrenaline being responsible for helping humans go faster and harder. Once the first transformation has happened the Saiya-Jin can learn to make the transformation without the extreme emotion. Just like actors can make themselves cry, without actually being upset. The Super Saiya-Jin gene appears to be a very dominant gene, as it is passed onto all Saiya-Jins, even the 1/16 Saiya-Jin, Goku Jr. But if the child is conceived before the parent's first transformation, they will have to turn on their gene in the normal way, e.g.: Gohan. But the first transformation has taken place, it seems to cause a slight mutation in the DNA that is passed on, because children conceived after the parent's first transformation find it much easier to activate their Super Saiya-Jin gene, e.g.: Goten and Trunks. Gohan seems to be a special case in the passing on of the Super Saiya-Jin gene. It appears as if he received his gene from Goku, partially activated. As in times of extreme emotion, Gohan received a power spike time and again, but his power level wasn't high enough to have the gene fully activated. Higher Super Saiyan levels appear not to be genetically activated, they just appear to have been attained by increasing the power level through training. Recovery Most people know about the Saiya-Jin's ability to gain great strength after being beaten up, but it is not ability unique to Saiya-Jin's. Humans even possess this ability. When you lift weights for example, you are actually breaking the muscle fibres, which are then rebuilt bigger and stronger. The Saiya-Jin's ability however seems to be much more potent, as they gain great strength from any beating, this accounts for why the Saiya-Jin's power levels rise so much compared to the Namekians and Humans. Again this is also a genetic trait, it occurs in almost all life forms, and even the hybrid Saiya-Jins acquire this skill, so it must be a dominant Saiya-Jin gene. Overall the Saiya-Jin are very genetically similar to humans, but after generations of fighting, and working for Freeza especially, has bred a very strong, proud race. Accentuating the already present unique Saiya-Jin genetic characteristics. |