Forum:Human/Vulcan hybrids

My question: Are human/Vulcan hybrids natural, or is genetic engineering required?

Diane Duane, in "Spock's World," said that he was genetically engineered, and that natural hybrids were not possible. However, the information on this site seems to support both sides. Everything I can tell about Sela (human/Romulan) suggests she would only have been conceived naturally, but the page on Lorian (human/Vulcan) says Dr. Phlox had to make the genomes compatible.

Is there an official answer to this in canon?

-- Ermine Violin 02:51, July 8, 2011 (UTC)


 * Enterprise discussed that a little- notably and .  While the cloning process that created Elizabeth was flawed, Phlox said the flaws could be corrected and that a human-Vulcan child would be possible.  That could suggest some sort of genetic engineering is either needed or is just helpful- they didn't say it was impossible to do it naturally.  Different species, but Jadzia Dax and Worf needed ovarian resequencing enzymes to have a child- perhaps that is the means of genetic engineering for other species, too.--31dot 09:23, July 8, 2011 (UTC)

OK, so there's nothing either way about Spock in particular? So if I write a fanfic that mentions it, I just have to decide which way I think is more likely?

-- Ermine Violin 16:57, July 12, 2011 (UTC)


 * Phlox: "According to Lorian, I discovered, or rather I will discover, a method of successfully combining Human and Vulcan genomes." - . What that method is was never addressed, but there had to be some medical intervention. - 04:04, July 13, 2011 (UTC)


 * it sounds like it would have to be along the lines of anti-rejection drugs and/or the RH factor shots that mothers get now if their baby's blood is possitive and their's is negative. The reason is the fact the copper vs iron based blood issue would have to be addressed somehow. Chaos32 15:11, September 10, 2011 (UTC)


 * I don't think the type of ion in the hemoglobin would matter, because that's inside the cells; the mother's immune system would ignore it. Any surface antigens would have to be considered though, because if the mother's body attacked them, the baby would die in utero. So the problem with Elizabeth had to be something else, given she lived long enough to be born. The number of possible enzyme mismatches is infinite.


 * Details aside, the genetic engineering requirement was always more realistic; it was just a question of whether anything in canon contradicted it. It sounds like nothing does, so that's what I'll go with.

-- Ermine Violin 19:28, September 15, 2011 (UTC)


 * If you listen to this www.youtube.com/watch?v=etQ1wXSoC4M you hear Sarek talking about how Spock was born. He says he was conceived in the natural way but that he had to be removed from his mother until the fetus was at placental stage. He was then removed at 9 months gestation and spent a further 4 months in an incubator. So natural conception is possible, but difficult.