Virginia,
The only thing I have found similar was in
Luck and Consequences by Bob Bartholomew. Bob had Bernie find the source of Clark's power in attempt to explain why he and Lois could not have children by inventing 'Kryptonian Extensions", nano-technology that binds to Clark's cells and processes sunlight into super powers. That story and how they got around it
is a great read but
Bernie/Bob explain it best. Quoting Bernie:
"Actually, the source of your powers is artificial. The
artificial part operates at the cellular level. Your 'perfectly
normal' human biology has been modified. I've found what appear
to be nanotechnology additions to your human genome. These
extensions seem to be located such that they don't interfere with
normal genetic operation. And when I say normal operations, I am
including reproduction."
"But you've said that I'm not compatible with human females?"
Bernie could see the hope spring forth in his friend's face as
he asked that last question. Unfortunately, it was time to
deliver the bad news. He took a deep breath. "I'm very sorry, but
that appears to be true. Please let me get through the whole
explanation and I think you'll understand the nature of the
problem. I know this will seem like I'm not getting to the point,
but believe me when I say that this is all very important. The
information that I'm about to explain to you is central to the
fertility issue. It will also give you a much better feel for who
you are and how your body works."
Superman looked impatient but acquiesced. "OK. But I have to
tell you that the fertility issue is very important."
Bernie felt like he needed to get through the rest of his
explanation as quickly as possible. "We can detect these
modifications. I have been calling them Kryptonian Extensions or
KEs for short, but they are far too small and too advanced to
analyze in any detail. I have no idea how humans ended up on
Krypton, but I have a theory that on your planet, conditions were
too harsh for normal humans to thrive. Based on what you've told
us, I suspect that the gravity was too high and the light and
heat levels were too low. I believe that these modifications were
introduced to allow your ancestors to deal with the harsh
Kryptonian environment."
Bernie found that he was leaning forward over his desk and, in
his excitement, had started augmenting his explanation with hand
gestures. He took a second to lean back in his chair and compose
himself before continuing. "We know that your extra powers are
related to sunlight. My belief is that the KEs were designed to
use the lower energy of Krypton's red sun to boost the
capabilities of your people so that living on Krypton would feel
to them like living on a more hospitable planet such as Earth.
When you came to Earth, two things changed. First, even if the
Earth's sun were a low-energy red sun like Krypton's, the fact
that Earth's gravity and general environment is less challenging
would mean you would be far more capable than a normal human.
Now, add in the significantly higher energy that our yellow sun
produces and your powers go from superior to super."
Bernie watched as his friend took all this in. Finally Superman
asked, "Are you saying that I'm some sort of cyborg?"
"That's true only in the crudest sense of the word. The
additions you carry are at a very fundamental level and are
integral to your biology. These modifications are inherited and
as much a part of who and what you are as any naturally occurring
characteristic."
So basically Debbie is not breaking totally new ground but who knows where she will take it. In this story Kara was found at night, taken to the hospital, kept inside, taken by car to Emily's house, kept inside, and now is sleeping. The poor girl has not had any sunlight in probably a couple of days and the Kryptonian Extensions (Bob's naming) are probably starved. However when they get sunlight, who knows???
Mike
