Science or Too Far? Choosing Your Baby’s IQ and Looks.
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Nucleus Genomics, created by 25-year-old Kian Sadeghi, is getting a lot of attention and criticism. The company first started in 2021 to help people understand their risk of getting certain diseases through their genes. Now, Nucleus says it can also help parents choose which IVF embryo to use by looking at genes for things like looks, height, eye color, IQ, and even the risk of mental health issues like anxiety or ADHD.
This new product is called Nucleus Embryo. The company shared a video and tweet saying this is the first time in history that parents can have this kind of choice. In the video, there is even a menu showing how parents could compare embryos based on different traits.
Testing embryos is not new. Doctors already test for serious health problems like Down syndrome or cystic fibrosis when parents are at risk. But Nucleus is going further. It uses something called “polygenic scores,” which are predictions based on many genes combined. These scores do not guarantee if a person will get a disease or have a trait. They only say there might be a higher or lower chance based on large groups of people.
Experts say these scores are not always accurate and are not usually used for personal health decisions. The U.S. government’s National Human Genome Research Institute explains that polygenic scores show general risk, not exact outcomes. That is why many doctors do not use them in regular care.
Still, Nucleus believes its method works and says it can help people understand their health risks. Critics, however, are worried. Many people online say this sounds like “designer babies,” and they do not like the idea of picking kids based on looks or intelligence.
The company is working with another business called Genomic Prediction to offer the service to IVF clinics. Parents can choose to upload their embryo’s genetic data if they want to use Nucleus’s tools.
While some think this is the future of parenting, others are worried about the ethics. Just like IVF was once controversial, the idea of choosing babies’ traits might one day become normal—but for now, it is causing a big debate.
