‘Picking your baby’: Genetics startup sells test to rank embryos by IQ, height, looks
Nucleus Genomics unveiled a $5,999 service Wednesday allowing prospective parents to rank embryos created during in vitro fertilization (IVF) by projected IQ, height, eye color and nearly 900 health-related traits before deciding which to implant.
The New York startup crunches whole-genome data supplied by partner labs to generate “polygenic” risk scores, then delivers a dashboard that lists each embryo’s predicted smarts, stature, looks and lifespan alongside probabilities for major killers like cancer and Alzheimer’s, The Wall Street Journal reported. Company materials acknowledge the trait forecasts are probabilistic — IQ predictions, in particular, remain “limited in accuracy” — but founder and CEO Kian Sadeghi, 25, says parents deserve the extra information.
“The longevity movement is about taking medicine back and putting it in the people’s hands,” Sadeghi told the Journal. “Why would that apply now to the most intimate, personal, emotional, sensitive decision you will make? Picking your baby.”
Traditional pre-implantation testing screens for chromosomal abnormalities like Down syndrome or single-gene disorders like Tay-Sachs. Nucleus pushes far beyond that, applying algorithms that sift through hundreds or thousands of genetic variants to estimate future traits.
“This announcement also marks the first time a company has openly partnered with a couple to help them optimize their embryos based on intelligence,” Sadeghi said in his announcement video, adding, “Nucleus Embryo is for couples doing IVF to uncover the full profile of each embryo in one intuitive platform. You can explore your future child’s health, appearance and even their wellbeing. And — one of my favorite features — you can even name your embryos and leave note on the ones you like.”
The company won’t biopsy embryos itself; it relies on Genomic Prediction, a clinical lab that has already screened 120,000 embryos for IVF clinics worldwide and supplied disease scores on roughly 5,000 of them, Chief Scientific Officer Nathan Treff told the Journal.
Sadeghi doesn’t distinguish between adults taking DNA tests to understand their own health risks and parents screening embryos for longevity potential.
“It’s the same underlying motivation,” he told the outlet. “It is about living a longer, healthier life.”
The service has attracted attention in longevity circles, with Sadeghi frequently speaking at aging research conferences and partnering with X personality and “biohacker” Bryan Johnson’s “Don’t Die” events. Competitor Orchid Health offers similar genetic testing for around $12,500 for five embryos.
Dr. Paula Amato, a fertility doctor at Oregon Health & Science University, told the Journal she worries an embryo ranking system could lead to a society that chooses certain types of children over others, but added embryonic testing is the patients’ “prerogative. I won’t stop them.”
Sadeghi, meanwhile, frames embryo selection as an extension of his philosophy around increasing human longevity.
“Lifespan has dramatically increased in the last 150 years,” Sadeghi said, as reported by the Journal. “DNA testing to predict and reduce chronic disease can make it happen again.”
Neither Nucleus Genomics nor Genomic Prediction immediately responded to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s requests for comment.
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