A genetic test that gauges whether an embryo might be susceptible to certain diseases or traits is here, MIT's Technology Review reports.
The New Jersey-based company Genomic Prediction is poised to release case studies on its first customers for its LifeView test, which uses polygenic scores to determine an embryo's later risk of developing 11 different common diseases such as diabetes or cancer, Tech Review adds. The Asbury Park Press reported last year that the firm got the go-ahead from the state to sell its $400 pre-implantation genetic diagnostic test.
But critics told both Tech Review now and the Asbury Park Press last year that the test raises ethical concerns. "So, what kinds of diseases do we think are significant enough that there's a reason why a person shouldn't exist?" Rutgers Law School's Kimberly Mutcherson asked the Asbury Park Press.
Additionally, the University of California, Davis' Graham Coop tells Tech Review that the science the test relies on still needs refinement. "It is irresponsible to suggest that the science is at the point where we could reliably predict which embryo to select to minimize the risk of disease. The science simply isn't there yet," he says at Tech Review.