{"id":164684,"date":"2025-06-07T03:54:15","date_gmt":"2025-06-07T03:54:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/164684\/"},"modified":"2025-06-07T03:54:15","modified_gmt":"2025-06-07T03:54:15","slug":"genetics-testing-startup-nucleus-genomics-criticized-for-its-embryo-product-makes-me-so-nauseous","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/164684\/","title":{"rendered":"Genetics testing startup Nucleus Genomics criticized for its embryo product: ‘Makes me so nauseous’"},"content":{"rendered":"

Nucleus Genomics, a genetic testing startup founded by 25-year-old Kian Sadeghi, initially launched in 2021 <\/a>with the goal of calculating a patient\u2019s risk for specific diseases.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But it\u2019s been courting controversy for years with products that claim to tell people how their genetics correlate to a host of complex issues, including their IQ.\u00a0<\/p>\n

On Wednesday, it ratcheted up the controversy to an earsplitting level when it announced a new product called Nucleus Embryo with a tweet<\/a> that said: \u201cEvery 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.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

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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.<\/p>\n

Welcome to Nucleus Embryo.https:\/\/t.co\/jQd8SCVJaP<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Nucleus Genomics (@nucleusgenomics) June 4, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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 \u2014 sex, height, hair color, eye color \u2014 as well as IQ and complex health attributes like anxiety and ADHD.<\/p>\n

The launch video includes a screenshot of a comparison menu. The idea is to help parents choose which embryos to pick and which ones to, perhaps, discard.<\/p>\n

\"NucleusNucleus Genomics embryos features screen.Image Credits:<\/strong>Nucleus Genomics (opens in a new window)<\/a><\/p>\n

Genetic testing of embryos isn\u2019t unheard of. IVF physicians can test for<\/a> 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.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But that\u2019s not exactly what Nucleus is doing. It is using controversial \u201cpolygenic scores\u201d to determine \u201ccomplex genetic outcomes, like intelligence and anxiety,\u201d a spokesperson says.\u00a0<\/p>\n

According to the National Human Genome Research Institute, polygenic scores only calculate the probabilities of a certain complex illness occurring, mainly within populations. \u201cA polygenic risk score can only explain the relative risk for a disease,\u201d the NHGR says<\/a>. This is not the same as discovering a specific gene, such as the BRCA1 gene mutation, which gives a person a 60% to 80% \u201cabsolute risk of breast cancer,\u201d the NHGR says.\u00a0<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a reason doctors don\u2019t typically use such tests for individuals. \u201cPolygenic risk scores are not yet routinely used by health professionals because there are no guidelines for practice and researchers are still improving how these scores are generated,\u201d according to the NHGR.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Nucleus defends that its method can be used to determine an individual\u2019s risk. The spokesperson pointed us to a 2018 paper<\/a> where the authors said they had developed validated methods for five common diseases: coronary artery disease, atrial fibrillation, type 2 diabetes, inflammatory bowel disease, and breast cancer.\u00a0<\/p>\n

That paper was advocating screenings to help individuals make lifestyle or therapeutic decisions, similar to Nucleus\u2019s initial concept.<\/p>\n

Wednesday\u2019s tweet was promising parents that Nucleus can help them create designer babies. It has now been viewed more than 4 million times and has hundreds of comments, many of them either expressing disbelief that this works as promised, or horror at the idea.<\/p>\n

One VC chimed<\/a> into the discussion saying, \u201cI was going to type something like Noah get the boat but honestly the reality of this just makes me so nauseous.\u201d<\/p>\n

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I was going to type something like Noah get the boat but honestly the reality of this just makes me so nauseous pic.twitter.com\/s16hOwJYuN<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Max Niederhofer \u2764\ufe0f\u200d\ud83d\udd25 (@maxniederhofer) June 5, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Nucleus has experienced this kind of controversy before, as TechCrunch previously reported<\/a>, when it announced its $14 million Series A earlier this year. The startup is backed by Founders Fund; Alexis Ohanian\u2019s 776; and angels, including<\/a> Adrian Aoun (CEO at Forward Health), Brent Saunders (former CEO at Allergan), and Matteo Franceschetti (CEO at Eight Sleep).<\/p>\n

Last year, Sadeghi launched Nucleus IQ, which is supposed to tell users how much their genetics influence intelligence. The product was blasted as \u201cbad science and big business\u201d<\/a> by some critics.\u00a0Sadeghi published a lengthy defense <\/a>of his company\u2019s methodology.<\/p>\n

Even so, telling adults that they are genetically smart is one thing. Telling IVF parents that they can choose the appearance and other complex attributes for their children is, many would argue<\/a>, something else.<\/p>\n

Nucleus is not currently conducting such tests via IVF lab partners<\/a> itself, The Wall Street Journal reports. It\u2019s partnering with Genomic Prediction, which works with IVF clinics. A Genomic executive told the WSJ that many parents request intelligence tests, and it doesn\u2019t provide that. Parents can voluntarily upload genetic data information to Nucleus if they want to pursue it.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Or, as Sadeghi said in the launch video aimed at would-be parents: \u201cNot that long ago, IVF-1 sparked fear and the stigma of test tube babies,\u201d he said. \u201cWhat was once controversial is now an everyday practice. The same is true with genetic optimization. The technology is now here and it\u2019s here to stay.\u201d<\/p>\n