The Sims 4 Infants Update introduced the ability for Sims to “have babies with the power of science,” and surprisingly — it may be closer to reality than you think.
There have been tons of examples of popular media predicting future events. Whether it’s The Simpsons predicting the Trump presidency or George Orwells 1984 predicting the modern-day surveillance state, it’s not a far stretch to think that video games can also make accurate predictions of the future.
However, if you were to make a list of games that do so, The Sims 4 probably wouldn’t be too high up on your list, right? That’s where you’d be wrong — as the latest Infant Update for the game proves. According to patch notes,
“If your Sim doesn’t want to adopt or want to (or can’t) go through a pregnancy, they now have a brand new option. Sims can have babies with the power of science! Sims can now ask others to use a mix of their genetic material to create new life or just do it themselves…as long as they’ve got the funds.”
Reality is Stranger than Fiction
If you think the concept of growing human embryos with DNA seems like something from a science fiction B-movie, you might be surprised to learn that in 2021 scientists at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Isreal were able to grow mice in an artificial womb for as long as 11 or 12 days.
According to an MIT Technology Review article, they achieved this by growing the embryos inside a glass jar by adding organic material and then pumping it with a pressurized oxygen mixture. Scientists grew these mice embryos in the jar up to the equivalent of the first trimester for humans.
While we’re still a far way off from replicating this in humans (besides the clear ethical and moral concerns), it may be something that enables parents that can’t have biological children to still impart their DNA into an embryo in the future.
We can say that it’s a pretty cool feature in the update and makes it so that any Sim can have a kid in the game — and why wouldn’t that be welcomed?
What are Science Babies in The Sims 4 Infant Update?
Science Babies are babies created from one or two Sims for those that don’t want to or can’t go through a pregnancy. Players can use DNA from the Sims to create the baby without the need for adoption or carrying the baby to term. This might also be a good option for players that just don’t want to go through the pregnancy process.
To have a Science Baby, select the Sim you want to be the parent, and select the option to Have a Science Baby With… or Have Science Baby as Single Parent. It’ll cost you 1,200 Simoleons, so make sure you have the cash before committing.
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