A study published in the Journal of Anatomy has discovered a statistically significant increase in a forearm artery’s adult occurrence since the late 1800s.
The artery supplies blood to the hand in early fetus development. It is replaced by two arteries later in the womb.
The findings suggest this artery will become commonplace as soon as 80 years from now.
Shada Gray, the main character in Edited Genome Trilogy, has blood that can transport greater levels of oxygen. In the first book, I’ve suggested she’s the next step in human evolution.
There’s another story here, one that includes another passion of mine: olympic weightlifting. What if a scientist discovered people were born with higher-density soft tissues? Specifically, the tendons and ligaments around the knee, hips, and shoulders.
Then, given knowing their own children possessed this trait, they encouraged them to take up olympic weightlifting. In this sport, increased soft tissue quality would be extremely advantageous.
The story could be told from the POV of the athlete, chronicling their rise to the top and subsequent legal fight against people who discover their natural advantage. The final battle could be the international competition, the Olympics or world championships, in a scene reminiscent of Rocky IV.
The questions the scientist parent poses to win the court battle, ensuring their child can go to the highest levels in sport: is it unfair for tall children to be encouraged to take up basketball, or fast children to take up track?
A series based on this idea would have to take a different approach. In a series, the main character is the scientist who discovers emerging physical characteristics and identifies children with these traits, bringing them together in a special school for athletes.
The scientist would be like Professor X, but with athletes.
The stories could then chart the children dealing with typical teenage/young adult issues while training and performing at the highest levels of their respective sports.
Early novels could focus on the local competition, similar to “The Karate Kid.” The stakes get higher as the series progress, like the “Mighty Ducks” movies, but with many different sports represented.
