Sky News Daily Should you be able to pick your baby's genetic code?
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Nov 27, 2025 Tom Clarke, Science and technology editor at Sky News, dives into the controversial world of genetic selection for babies. He discusses a US clinic’s offer to pick traits like height and intelligence, raising ethical alarms. Tom outlines the differences between genetic disease screening and trait selection, alongside the legal gaps between the US and UK. He highlights the limits of predicting traits and the current unreliability of polygenic risk scores. The conversation also touches on the potential social implications and ethical dilemmas of such practices.
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Company Promises More Than Disease Screening
- Nucleus Genomics offers whole-genome profiling of IVF embryos and claims to "genetically optimize" choices like height and intelligence.
- Tom Clarke warns this goes beyond accepted disease screening into ethically fraught territory with limited scientific certainty.
Polygenic Scores Are Probabilities, Not Guarantees
- Polygenic traits like height and intelligence are influenced by many genes plus environment, so embryo scores are probabilistic not deterministic.
- Tom Clarke stresses these polygenic risk scores give only statistical guesses and do not guarantee outcomes.
Don't Treat Current Scores As Clinically Reliable
- Avoid relying on current polygenic embryo screening for clinical decisions because major reproductive societies advise against it.
- Tom Clarke notes data and algorithms are improving but remain limited, especially across ethnicities.