Frieza's race from Dragon Ball Z is one of the galaxy's most powerful species -- an unnamed people (often referred to as Frost Demons) of asexual bruisers who are more than powerful enough to wipe out entire planets all on their own. However, there are also disadvantages to their biology that have revealed themselves over the years. Here are the most unique elements of Frieza's body -- and by extension, his entire race's biology -- from across the Dragon Ball franchise.
Can Frieza Breathe in Space?
Frieza's unique biology allows him to survive without many of the necessities that keep other species breathing -- including actually breathing. Repeatedly, it's shown in the series that Frieza doesn't need air to survive. Instead, he's able to comfortably float in space and fight without any need to fill his lungs at any point to keep going. This is why he was initially content destroying the planet if it meant killing Goku during the height of their battle on Namek in Dragon Ball Z. While Freiza would be unaffected by moving their fight into space, even as a Super Saiyan, Goku needs to breathe.
This isn't even the first time Frieza tries to use this advantage against his opponents. During his earlier stretch of their fight, Frieza holds Goku underwater and actually comes close to drowning the hero -- indicating that Frieza is more than aware of how unique his species is for not needing to actually breathe. Even after Goku achieved massive power boosts and unlocked the Super Saiyan God form, he's still shown needing air during his duel with Beerus in Dragon Ball Super. Instead, this evolutionary upgrade appears to be a unique perk for Frieza and his race.
Why Is Frieza So Strong?
Similar to Namekians, Frieza's species are capable of surviving a massive amount of punishment across the franchise. There is a notable difference, however, in their breaking points and means of recovery. For Namekians, severed limbs can be regrown on command -- but a strong enough blast to the head could destroy the part of the body that allows them to regenerate, killing them. Frieza's race, on the other hand, does not seem capable of regenerative abilities. Frieza, in particular, requires outside assistance or a severe power boost (such as transformation) to recover from major bodily damage.
However, Frieza's people have far more physical endurance, with Frieza surviving attacks that even Namekeians would consider fatal. Frieza survived being bisected by his own Death Saucer and even technically survived having his head reduced to pieces. He lasted long enough on his own for the remains to be found by his father King Cold and retrofitted with mechanical add-ons, helping Frieza recover from his injuries with advanced technology.
This proves that Frieza can nominally survive most forms of attack short of full vaporization -- such as the attack from Future Trunks that did finally kill him. Frieza seems uniquely tough, too, as he's survived beatings from the likes of Goku and even Broly -- and while he may not recover instantly, he's withstood such beatings and escaped to fight another day.
What Is Friza's Transformation?
Transformation is one of the most notable aspects of Frieza's race. So far in the franchise, Frieza has displayed multiple distinct bodies, each unleashing a different amount of energy. While some suppress his power, others -- such as his ultimate form, Golden Frieza -- unleash all of them in a short burst. Other members of his species (such as King Cold in Dragon Ball Z, Cooler in the non-canon movies, and Frost in Dragon Ball Super) are shown achieving similar different forms, suggesting this is a consistent ability for most members of the species.
However, there's an additional advantage to transforming. During his battle with the Z-Warriors while in his Second Form, Frieza had part of his tail prehensile tail severed by Krillin's Destructo-Disc. The injury didn't heal while Frieza was in this form, and even remained severed when he reached his third form. However, upon reaching his fourth "true" form, Frieza's tail was fully regrown. This suggests that any injury he suffers in his suppressed form can be easily reversed by transformation -- potentially giving someone like Frieza an additional reason to use suppressed forms to better avoid any damage that couldn't so easily be undone.
Can Frieza Sense God Ki?
Originally, Frieza and his allies were unaware of the ability to sense Ki. This technique -- which became a consistent advantage of the Z-Warriors once they gained it from training with the likes of Mister Popo and Kami -- allows users to find enemies and stay ahead of their foes. Frieza and his Empire were instead forced to rely on Scouters to replicate this ability -- with the technology prone to self-destruction if they were overwhelmed.
This means that Frieza -- who first encountered the technique while combating the Z-Warriors on Namek -- is the first of his species to try and adapt to it. Notably, in Dragon Ball Super, Frieza showcases the ability to sense Godly Ki. A powerful form of Ki that is otherwise undetectable by regular Scouters, Frieza is able to sense the amount of Godly Ki that Goku has thanks to his extended period of training in his Golden form. This likely means Frieza is the first member of his species to develop this useful ability. Although Frieza also hasn't quite figured out how to hide his Ki as the Z-Warriors can, he has shown awareness of this disadvantage and factors it into his plans, such as in Dragon Ball Super: Broly.
Why Does Frieza Want to Be Taller?
During Dragon Ball Super: Broly, Frieza arrives on Earth with a single goal: to find the Dragon Balls and make a wish. However, unlike previous times where he'd intended to use the Dragon Balls to become immortal, in this incident, it was because Frieza wanted to increase his height by five centimeters -- a minor amount that wouldn't be instantly chalked up to coming as a result of a wish. It's contrasted against Bulma's desire to look five years younger using the Dragon Balls, suggesting that Frieza desires height as more for vanity than strength.
It is worth mentioning that Frieza is noticeably shorter than other members of his race, such as his brother Cooler and his father King Cold. This suggests that there is at least one similarity between Frieza's biology and that of a human -- at some point, Frieza's race stops growing in height and reaches a peak of how tall they will become. As is the case for humans, height can be seen as a desirable trait in his species, which gives the race of otherwise ruthless tyrants a touch of petty humanity.