DNA Manipulation

DNA manipulation is the ability to manipulate DNA, thus altering age, physical appearance, abilities, genetic health and normal physiological processes.

Characters[]

Noah Gray in World 5 has this ability naturally, as does his future self.
Pippa Millbrook has absorbed this ability from Noah.
Taylor Petrelli has mimicked this ability from Noah.
An unnamed woman in World 1 has also displayed this ability.
Liz Jones has absorbed this ability from the unnamed woman.
Magdalena Sanchez-Hawkins also possesses this ability naturally.
Daniel Vaughan-Reist-Greene has mimicked this ability from Magda.
Mohinder Suresh has gained this ability from the formula in World 8.
Harry "Stiffy" Bones' father also possessed this ability.
Mara Cunningham will also have this ability naturally.
Peter Petrelli has mimicked this ability in World 5 and World 8.
Robert Max has mimicked this ability from Mohinder.
Jessica Sky Petrelli has also mimicked this ability from Mohinder.
Maemi Kiryuu possesses this ability naturally.

Limits[]

Noah Gray[]

Noah's use of this ability is currently intermittent, though he is able to change DNA in many ways. He first used it, accidentally, to accelerate his mother's pregnancy and his own birth. He will in future be able to use it to alter the abilities of others, age, appearance and genetic health, but he will not be able to do any of this until he is in his teens. He will also be capable of granting himself a temporary additional ability. It seems that he will in future be able to use the ability to "read" a person's DNA in order to identify them or gain information about them, but only when done deliberately.

Future Noah Gray[]

Noah as an adult can use the ability much more proficiently than his younger self, and can access all of his possible aspects. He has been shown using the ability several times to give himself a temporarily second ability useful for his current situation, and has also been shown using the ability to kill others within seconds, as well as deliberately accelerating a woman's pregnancy similarly to how he accidentally accelerated his own birth. He needs physical contact for each use.

Pippa Millbrook[]

Pippa has the same limits as Noah's future self in using this ability. She first displayed it when she returned her son's ability to him after having absorbed the original version from him. She has since used it to "read" her sister Saph's DNA in order to confirm their relation, though it was later revealed that Saph's DNA had been manipulated when she was an infant. The ability told her that they are half-sisters when in fact they are full sisters. It did not detect the previous manipulation. She has also once used the ability to alter her appearance and disguise herself.

Taylor Petrelli[]

To date, Taylor has only used the ability to alter his own age and that of his sister, and to alter their appearances when in hiding. However, he ought to have similar limits as Noah. He has no need to use it to give himself another ability, since this is what his core ability does. When he used his ability on Sable, she described it as a tingling feeling.

Unnamed Woman[]

The woman accidentally used her ability to speed up Sinead O'Brien's pregnancy by several months. It's unknown what else she could possibly do with the ability.

Liz Jones[]

Liz mimicked the ability from the unnamed woman, and would therefore have similar unknown limits to her. She is yet to display the ability.

Magdalena Sanchez-Hawkins[]

Magdalena can use this ability to gain information from DNA and to manipulate it. She can use this ability to change a person's appearance and genetic health, including her own, and she can also change another person's abilities, but not hers. She can occasionally use the ability to edit in improvements into her genetics, but finds it difficult and painful to do so. She can also prevent a person from ageing, by repairing the damage to DNA which is responsible for age.

Daniel Vaughan-Reist-Greene[]

Since Dann gained this ability from Magda, he would therefore have similar limits to her. He is yet to use the ability.

Mohinder Suresh[]

Mohinder gains information from DNA, both his own and that of others every time he touches someone. However, he doesn't interpret the information until he does so deliberately. He can also use the ability to manipulate DNA deliberately, changing a person's age, genetic health, abilities and appearance. He has displayed this in returning Rhia Jones' abilities to her, and she described it as a tingling sensation which swept across her entire body. His use of the ability doesn't seem to be as swift as Noah's or Magda's.

Harry "Stiffy" Bones' Father[]

Harry's father is known to have used his ability upon his son to prevent Harry from ageing any further, during a fight. It is unknown in which other ways he used the ability.

Mara Cunningham[]

Mara will be able to manipulate DNA in many ways. She will be able to change age and appearance easily, and will also be able to change the abilities of others, and give a person a temporary additional ability. She will be able to give herself a temporary fourth ability too, but it will have to be an ability she's been exposed to repeatedly. It will also be easier for her to give simpler abilities. She will be able to "read" DNA in order to gain information about people.

Peter Petrelli[]

Peter has similar limits to Noah and Pippa in World 5, and similar limits to Mohinder in World 8. He has not displayed the ability in World 8, but in World 5 he has used it a few times to alter a person's appearance in order to disguise them.

Robert Max[]

Robert has similar limits to Mohinder.

Jessica Sky Petrelli[]

Jess also has similar limits to Mohinder.

Maemi Kiryuu[]

Maemi has possessed this ability since several months before her birth, though due to her young age her use of it is currently sporadic. She first used it to alter her genetic gender. Her mother was originally pregnant with a son, but Maemi unknowingly altered her genes, effectively turning herself into a girl. Her ability was later identified using ability sensing. Manipulating DNA could also be used to alter a person's appearance and genetic health, and in future Maemi could possibly change someone's ability.

Similar Abilities[]

Genetic mimicry is the ability to mimic the genetic traits of others
DNA mimicry is the ability to mimic the ability and appearance of another from their DNA
Shapeshifting can be used to alter appearance
Age alteration can manipulate age and ageing rates
Human manipulation, body manipulation, human omnipotence and biokinesis can all alter DNA
Ability granting can give others abilities
DNA sampling can take DNA from another and use it
Trace shifting can be used to alter one's own DNA sequences
Trace reading can be used to interpret a person's DNA sequences