On Wednesday, it ratcheted up the controversy to an earsplitting level when it announced a new product called Nucleus Embryo with a tweet that said: 'Every parent wants to give their children more than they had. For the first time in human history, Nucleus adds a new tool to that commitment.' Nucleus says it can test IVF embryos not just for well-known specific genes that have a high chance of illnesses like breast cancer, but also for appearance ' sex, height, hair color, eye color ' as well as IQ and complex health attributes like anxiety and ADHD. Genetic testing of embryos isn't unheard of. IVF physicians can test for genes that can cause conditions like Down syndrome, or when parents know they are of high risk for a particular genetic disorder, like cystic fibrosis. According to the National Human Genome Research Institute, polygenic scores only calculate the probabilities of a certain complex illness occurring, mainly within populations. 'A polygenic risk score can only...
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