Interesting article about embryo selection.
What have I learnt from this article? ๐งต
First - the media doesn't (care to?) know that this is eugenics. They (prefer to?) think eugenics just means genetics + evil. We should keep it this way.
bloomberg.com
What have I learnt from this article? ๐งต
First - the media doesn't (care to?) know that this is eugenics. They (prefer to?) think eugenics just means genetics + evil. We should keep it this way.
bloomberg.com
This was the most interesting part of the article. Genomic Prediction and Orchid don't offer selection for IQ to avoid backlash. But motivated parents can do this themselves in a sort of DIY fashion and it's cheap too. Sounds like the start of a black market.
"Genomic Prediction charges $1,000 upfront, plus $400 per embryo analyzed."
10 embryos, you're paying $5,000. This seems insanely low given the customers are rich and willing to pay large sums.
Genomic Prediction must have 1) Lots of funding and 2) Expects severe competition
10 embryos, you're paying $5,000. This seems insanely low given the customers are rich and willing to pay large sums.
Genomic Prediction must have 1) Lots of funding and 2) Expects severe competition
The article boasts of Genomic Prediction's "proprietary software" and "fancy" "mathematical methods rooted in physics".
Truth is though as long as you can get access to biobank data or even just publicly available polygenic scores, it's probably easy to enter the market.
Truth is though as long as you can get access to biobank data or even just publicly available polygenic scores, it's probably easy to enter the market.
Genomic Prediction is cheap and getting your embryos DNA analysed somewhere else is also very cheap. This is *bad* for startups in this industry because there is little profit.
The commercial eugenics market will become dominated by few big players and small 'artisan' providers
The commercial eugenics market will become dominated by few big players and small 'artisan' providers
On the upside, a few big players mean the PR narrative is going to be tightly controlled and the benefits of lobbying will be internalised. This radically increases the chances of low regulation and low public backlash.
As I've predicted before, there probably won't be much selection against 'disorders' like Autism or even ADHD. Such conditions seem to have advantages and disadvantages which the customers are aware of.
The parents/customers are clearly rather eccentric. Once we get large increases in intelligence via selection, the smartest people born will be quite weird.
At the end of the century, society may split between high IQ 'neuro-atypicals' and low IQ normies.
At the end of the century, society may split between high IQ 'neuro-atypicals' and low IQ normies.
As usual, the critical scientists are delusional. They can't keep their story straight - are they concerned that polygenic screening doesn't work or do they not want us to use it because it works?
Or maybe they just expect to have a massive market anyway...
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