Sims & DNA:

So here we are, the Simmish Prophecy will be fast upon us and it has given us scientists something great to look into in Simborough. I will be doing a series of lectures covering some of the main changes that will occur...so that you the residents can make an informed choice of whether you want to convert or not. Today DNA!
DNA or Deoxyribonucleic acid is a protein that will be soon be found in every cell in our bodies. It will govern the way we're made, what we look like, our abilities and of course what we hand down to our children.
The Structure: As you can see from the pic DNA forms a double helical structure. The backbone (the coloured balls) is made up of a sugar-phosphate matrix. The particles that hold the whole structure together are called bases (these are represented by the rods in the picture). Bases come in the form of A,T,C and G. C and G link together and A and T link together in sequences that form genes. I.e each rod shown is one connection such as a C and G bond. Gene's are those messages which tell our bodies how to look, can pass on certain abilities and can also contain defects. So a gene is formed by a certain length chain of bases, i.e. G-C, A-T,T-A,T-A,C-G could form the gene for our nose!!
Passage of DNA: So the main matter of concern is not that we'll have DNA but the fact that we'll pass it on to our children. When a baby is formed, after the Simmish Propechy, the DNA double chain above will split in two, it will then re-combine but with one strand from the mother's egg and one strand from the fathers sperm, thus you get a DNA structure which is made up of both your father and mothers DNA.
Questions: So our children will look like both Mother and Father?
Yes, they will have certain traits from their parents...they may have their fathers nose but their mothers eyes.
And our children will all look like each other?
No, each time a baby is formed different parts of the DNA will recombine. This means that no child will ever be the same unless they are identical twins (when the same egg splits and makes two babies). Siblings may look similar but none will look alike.
So eventually our traits as parents will be lost completley?
As new sims come into the matrix a certain gene, say the nose, will get watered down and will not be as prevelent, yes. But think about our lives now...no traits are given at all...our children usually look nothing like us!!
What happens when we convert? Many of us already have children, will they suddenly look like us?
Now here is a flaw. It will be up to you. We think that when you convert it is feasable to make a family as it is now, however if you want the genetic traits in your family your children are going to undergo some considerable change in their looks. This will mean that they are gentically similar but will not look like their original selves. You should talk to your families about this, many children may want to keep their looks and so won't be able to convert using the DNA method.
The next article will be Sims and Lifespan. Please email me if you have any questions quoting Teresa Harrow Articles.
Teresa Harrow

Sims and Lifespan - In my last article we looked at DNA and how it will affect our lives. This time I intend to look at another, much more visible, change to sim life and that is of our lifespan. This is my husband Chris Harrow, or how he "will" be. Currently we sims live a luxury live where it is quite hard to day. Study hard and you'll never worry about burning to death or perhaps being electrocuted. Earn enough money and you won't starve and although there's rumours about accidental combustion I've never actually seen it happen. But after Sim Conversion all of our lives will be ill fated.
After Primeminister Phillips opted for Sim Convertion things have been fairly quiet in Simborough but this may now cause a stir...as she has also opted for Sim Lifespan. This means, in short, that we will be born, grow up and then die! Yes, ALL of us!! I hear you all crying out "What are the advantages of this...this is murder!!" but there are some. We can now leave legacies, we can have our children grow before our eyes, let them have families and fufill their aspirations just as we did. We can see our grandchildren and most of all, we can be loved and missed when we're gone. As a scientist I am all for this new way, it is the natural progression to a higher line of existance and the changes we will see in our community will be astronomical.
To test the whole lifespan theory we did an experiment. Now that the prototypes of the conversion machine have been released my husband offered to be a guinea pig. We took pictures of him now and converted them to give us an idea of how Chris will look after conversion. Then, using genetic and lifespan tools we changed his lifestages to show us how he'll look as a baby, all the way through his life until he is an elder. Note that not only are there 5 distinct lifestages compared with our current 3, the DNA can be seen taking effect here as even as a child Chris look like himself.

As you can see from above the 5 lifestages are Baby, Child, Teen, Adult and Elder. Doesn't my Chris make a gorgeous child? And what about his suave and sophisiticated Elder look! I can't wait to see him like that!
I hope that after seeing the pics and reading this article you think twice about the conversion and the lifespan...it really is a GREAT idea! I'd like to know what YOU think so please email via anttroy@hotmail.com with the Subject Teresa Harrow and I'll publish some of the responses and try to answer your questions.
Teresa Harrow