"Do you want a smart child?'Betal IQ Examination Service Claims''Controversy'
Nov 04, 2024
|
According to foreign media such as The Guardian, American startup Heliospect Genomics has launched an IQ test service for embryos.
They are promoting that they can choose their future children by ranking embryos.
The service costs up to $50,000 (about 69 million won).
The company said it provided the service to more than a dozen pairs of parents who underwent in vitro fertilization, and examined IQ and other properties in 100 embryos.
They argued that this could help them choose higher children with an average IQ of 6 or more.
The company explained that up to 100 embryos can be ranked based on characteristics such as gender, height, obesity and mental illness risk, and IQ.
It also said it had developed a forecasting tool based on data from UK Biobank donated by 500,000 Britons.
However, selecting embryos based on predicted high IQ is illegal in most countries.
A business representative said "The service is operating within all relevant laws and regulations"
In this regard, prominent geneticists and bioethics pointed out that there are ethical and medical problems.
Professor Dagan Wells of reproductive genetics at Oxford University in England pointed out that "It's too much of a test."
Katie Hason, deputy director of the Center for Genetics and Social Affairs in California, USA, emphasized that "one of the biggest problems is that it normalizes the concepts of 'excellent' genetics and 'inferior' genetics."These techniques reinforce the belief that inequality comes from biology, not from social causes."
Michael Christensen, CEO of Heliospect Genomics, argued in response that "everyone can have children of their choice and basically have children that are disease-free and smart and healthy.'
bellho@sportschosun.com
