The Science of Twilight

[roseaurora]

I love the way SM addresses the whole period issue... but it makes me wonder why donated blood is okay, I would think that is "dead" too...?

[ringswraith]

I love the way SM addresses the whole period issue... but it makes me wonder why donated blood is okay, I would think that is "dead" too...?

Donated blood is taken directly from the bloodstream- it's still very much "alive" (at least for a certain period of time).

By contrast, the other is "flushed out" as waste, because (technically speaking) it is waste. Otherwise I believe evolution would have made the body just reabsorb it.

[roseaurora]

Ah! That makes a lot of sense! Thanks!

[BeccalovesEdward]

I'm just throwing that in, my biology classes were long ago (5 years?), but don't we need to know whether the vampire-genes are recessive or dominant?

But the vampire genes could be co-dominant. That would make sense because if either the vampire gene or the human gene was dominant and the other recessive, that would mean Nessie would be either a human or vampire. The only possiblity left is vampire genes and human genes being co-dominant together.

[Jazzy]

Can someone post the link where SM addresses the Bella's period question?

Sorry if it's already posted on here, could not find it, and I'm curious to read what SM said as I don't believe I saw that on her website?

Thanks all!

[who_needs_fangs?]

http://www.twilightlexiconforum.com/vie ... f=15&t=528

And for the correspondance itself.

http://www.twilightlexiconblog.com/?p=35

[jenmick2]

Even after she is fully developed her heart still beats and her blood still flows, but wouldnt you think that her body would have to go through some sort of menopausal state? Either that or she would have to spend centuries upon centuries of monthly menstrual cycles.
If thats the case, they would have to time it just right to have babies. Could you imagine the family discussion around the dining room table about the right time for Jacob and Renesmee to procreate

[BeccalovesEdward]

I know quite a few people have talked about how stupid it is for vampire to father children because they have no need to. I've always believed that the reason they can father children is kind of a way of cleaning up after themselves. If a vampire had developed the self control to get physical enough with a human to have sex with them and not kill them, then the vampire has a chance of being exposed. So, through evolution, it develops the ability to sire children that kill their mothers after birth so the human that knows of what the vampire really is can't expose the vampire. I hope that made sense.

[CullensGirl14]

I'm not sure if anyone has questioned this, i'm sorry to repeat this if someone has.

What about the science of the Cullens?

I know vampires are fictional characters, but they all stem from one book right? Dracula. Dracula is nocturnal, and doesn't leave his castle during the day time. so even though the Cullens don't go out in direct sunlight (due to the glittery skin...and where did that come from?! lol) they can still come out during the day...which conflicts with Dracula and confuses me, i would ask if this is their 'reward' for not taking human life, but this wouldn't work for Edward or Jasper, and also didn't Laurent, Victoria and James appear during the day?

Also, Edward makes a point of saying it's very difficult for a vampire to kill themselves. All they need to do is stake themselves through the heart, or behead themselves, now i can see that that would be diffucult to do, as i'm guessing that self preservation instincts come into play here.

Also, vampires are dead (hence the cold skin etc), their heart doesn't beat, blood doesn't circulate around their body...sorry to lower the tone but how was Edward able to produce Renesme with Bella? Everyone does, or will learn at some point the science behind that :

I love the series to pieces, but SM has set up her own vampire mythology that conflicts with the original, and having read Dracula, watched Buffy, read Laurell K. Hamilton and L.A Banks, they have stuck to the same legends that vampires can be killed with a stake to the heart or beheading, that they can't come out in the day time and that vampires can't have children.

[ringswraith]

Simple fact of the matter is, Stephenie Meyer created these characters and the mythos behind them as well. She doesn't have to follow the "convention" at all. That's one perk of being a writer.

There's actually a thread devoted to discussing her vampires versus vampires in other stories/systems- you might want to check there:

http://www.twilightlexiconforum.com/vie ... =29&t=4343