# data[].attributes.headline
Is it ethical to test IVF embryos for intelligence? 

# data[].attributes.subject
Is it ethical to test IVF embryos for intelligence? 

# data[].attributes.body
While IVF embryos are commonly tested for conditions like down syndrome or cancers, testing for intellectual disabilities remains a debated topic. For one, intelligence isn't determined by genes alone--the environment plays a role as well. Additionally, GWAS testing only measures for probability, meaning results are not concrete at all. On the other hand, identifying cases of extreme risk for disabilities could be beneficial.

# data[].attributes.body
Genomic studies continue to develop. Groups of people with similar traits are studied to find any repeating similarities between members of the group. For example, in a study of tall people there were 20,000 spots in the genome that have influence over height--these studies don't show us exactly how.

# data[].attributes.body
The interviewer talks about the parallels between testing embryos before IVF and Eugenics (Hitler's ideology). There is a lot of discussion about where to draw the line when it comes to genetic technology because while it is a very powerful development with many advantages, it could also create a dangerous future--amplifyng conflicts from our history

# data[].attributes.body
Since then, sequencing has become extremely cheap and efficient. Researchers pooled millions of genomes together to study. By looking at patterns in the genomes, computers can develop algorithms to predict traits by looking at A, T, C, and G bases at certain locations.

# data[].attributes.body
In June 2000, the first entire human genome was sequenced. Initially, people believed specific genes would correlate to certain traits one-to-one. In reality, thousands of genes work together to express a trait.

# data[].attributes.body
Steve Hsu's company, "Genomic Prediction" is able to test embryos for certain intellectual disabilities so that IVF families have a scientific basis for which embryos to select. This paves the way for families to start to pick and choose the traits that their children might have.