How much would you pay for a smarter child?

Genetic screening of embryos is moving beyond the realm of medicine and becoming a new technology market.

▪️American startups Nucleus, Orchid, and Herasight offer prospective parents not only an assessment of the risk of hereditary diseases but also predictions regarding their child’s height, intelligence, life expectancy, and sometimes even eye color. These services cost tens of thousands of dollars and are currently available mainly to affluent families.

The technology is based on polygenic tests (PGT-P), which analyze the influence of multiple genes.
▪️However, the scientific community is debating their accuracy: with a small number of embryos, the benefits turn out to be modest—for example, the increase in predicted IQ may be only a few points, and in height, only a few centimeters.

Ethical issues are no less pressing.
▪️Critics fear that selecting embryos based on desired characteristics brings society closer to a new form of eugenics, while supporters view the technology as a way to improve a child’s chances of good health and a long life.

Investment in the fertility sector is growing, and IVF is gradually becoming more affordable, which means the debate over the limits of genetic selection will only intensify.ㅤ

#Health #IVF #IQ #FindTruth

@uinhurricane✅