{"id":27219,"date":"2026-08-15T09:15:20","date_gmt":"2026-08-15T06:15:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ukrmedia.news\/?p=27219"},"modified":"2026-08-15T09:15:20","modified_gmt":"2026-08-15T06:15:20","slug":"polygenic-embryo-selection-us","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ukrmedia.news\/en\/science-tech\/polygenic-embryo-selection-us\/","title":{"rendered":"In the US, people are already being offered the chance to \u00abchoose\u00bb a child based on their IQ and appearance"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"news-lead\">In the US, start-ups are offering parents the chance to compare embryos created through IVF based on statistical predictions of disease risks, cognitive abilities and specific physical traits, reports The Economist. These services analyse the DNA of existing embryos rather than editing genes; however, the American Society for Reproductive Medicine considers the technology to be unready for clinical use.<\/p>\n<div class=\"news-summary-box\">\n<p><strong>Briefly about the main points<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Nucleus claims to analyse more than two thousand genetic markers.<\/li>\n<li>Herasight assesses an unlimited number of embryos for a fee of up to $50 thousand.<\/li>\n<li>A polygenic score compares probabilities, but does not predict an exact IQ or height.<\/li>\n<li>In 2024, more than 100,000 children were born in the US following IVF treatment.<\/li>\n<li>The ASRM does not recommend polygenic embryo screening for clinical use.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<h2>What services do genetic start-ups offer?<\/h2>\n<p>Nucleus advertises analysis of over two thousand genetic markers. These include predicted height, eye and hair colour, body mass index, susceptibility to hair loss, acne, a range of diseases and cognitive abilities.<\/p>\n<p>Herasight assesses the risks of diabetes, cardiovascular and oncological diseases, Alzheimer\u2019s disease, schizophrenia and depression. The company also offers assessments of height, longevity and cognitive abilities; analysis of an unlimited number of embryos can cost up to $50 thousand.<\/p>\n<p>Orchid primarily focuses on whole-genome screening for the risk of hundreds of diseases. Assessments of intelligence or physical appearance are not included in its standard clinical report.<\/p>\n<h2>What polygenic estimates actually reveal<\/h2>\n<p>During IVF, several cells are taken from the embryo for genetic analysis. Algorithms summarise the combined effect of numerous genetic variants and calculate a polygenic score \u2014 a statistical predisposition to a particular trait or a multifactorial condition. This approach is also known as PGT-P, or polygenic embryo screening.<\/p>\n<p>These assessments are not a diagnosis and do not determine the future of a particular child. Intelligence, height, health and life expectancy are also influenced by nutrition, education, lifestyle, social environment and random factors. The result merely allows for a comparison of relative predispositions between several embryos.<\/p>\n<p>The practical difference between these options may be small, as the embryos come from the same parents. The American Society for Reproductive Medicine notes that polygenic scores account for only part of the differences between individuals.<\/p>\n<h2>The growth of the ECS is creating a wider market for services<\/h2>\n<p>According to the American Society for Reproductive Medicine, US clinics carried out 449,772 IVF cycles in 2024. This resulted in the birth of 100,158 children \u2014 approximately 2.8% of all newborns in the country. The annual number of births following IVF exceeded 100,000 for the first time.<\/p>\n<p>The Economist outlines an investment scenario in which, should IVF become more affordable and widespread, the potential market size could reach $400\u2013500 billion per year. This is an estimate of the possible future scale, rather than an indication of the current turnover from genetic embryo ranking services.<\/p>\n<h2>The medical community does not recommend the use of this technology in clinics<\/h2>\n<p>In December 2025, the American Society for Reproductive Medicine concluded that polygenic embryo screening was not yet ready for clinical use. Among the reasons cited were insufficient predictive accuracy, an incomplete understanding of gene\u2013environment interactions, and limited representation of different ethnic groups in genetic databases.<\/p>\n<p>The ASRM emphasises that no technology guarantees the birth of a healthy child or the emergence of predetermined traits. The European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology also does not support the clinical application of polygenic selection, pointing to the wide margins of uncertainty in individual predictions.<\/p>\n<p>Critics are discussing the risks of increased social inequality, the commercialisation of parenthood and unrealistic expectations of children. The ASRM also warns that ranking may place psychological pressure on parents and encourage them to undergo additional IVF cycles in order to achieve a lower predicted risk.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>US start-ups rank embryos according to disease risks, IQ and traits, but the ASRM does not recommend polygenic screening in clinics.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":207433346,"featured_media":27218,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rank_math_description":"\u0421\u0442\u0430\u0440\u0442\u0430\u043f\u0438 \u0421\u0428\u0410 \u0440\u0430\u043d\u0436\u0443\u044e\u0442\u044c \u0435\u043c\u0431\u0440\u0456\u043e\u043d\u0438 \u0437\u0430 \u0440\u0438\u0437\u0438\u043a\u0430\u043c\u0438 \u0445\u0432\u043e\u0440\u043e\u0431, IQ \u0456 \u0440\u0438\u0441\u0430\u043c\u0438, \u0430\u043b\u0435 ASRM \u043d\u0435 \u0440\u0430\u0434\u0438\u0442\u044c \u043f\u043e\u043b\u0456\u0433\u0435\u043d\u043d\u0438\u0439 \u0441\u043a\u0440\u0438\u043d\u0456\u043d\u0433 \u0443 \u043a\u043b\u0456\u043d\u0456\u043a\u0430\u0445.","rank_math_title":"\u0412\u0456\u0434\u0431\u0456\u0440 \u0435\u043c\u0431\u0440\u0456\u043e\u043d\u0456\u0432 \u0437\u0430 IQ \u0456 \u0437\u043e\u0432\u043d\u0456\u0448\u043d\u0456\u0441\u0442\u044e: \u0449\u043e \u0442\u0430\u043a\u0435 PGT-P","rank_math_focus_keyword":"PGT-P","td_subtitle":"","subtitle":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[805620],"tags":[806790],"class_list":["post-27219","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-science-tech","tag-806790"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ukrmedia.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27219","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ukrmedia.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ukrmedia.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ukrmedia.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/207433346"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ukrmedia.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27219"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/ukrmedia.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27219\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":27220,"href":"https:\/\/ukrmedia.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27219\/revisions\/27220"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ukrmedia.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27218"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ukrmedia.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27219"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ukrmedia.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27219"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ukrmedia.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27219"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}