Couple Volunteers for Genetic Engineering of Disease-Resistant Embryos

Max Howald, a thirty-one-year-old software engineer from a financial technology startup, and his wife have volunteered to participate in a pioneering genetic engineering project aimed at creating disease-resistant embryos.

They have chosen to work with Herasight, a company that officially launched in the summer of 2023, backed by the influential Silicon Valley venture-capital firm Draper Associates. Herasight is offering testing and analysis on up to one hundred embryos over five years for a fee of fifty thousand dollars.

This groundbreaking initiative has attracted a clientele that includes well-known billionaires among its eighty initial customers. Herasight's pitch focuses on empowering parents to select embryos based on desirable traits, including intelligence, impulsivity, height, and predisposition to common diseases.

In their case, the couple selected one embryo from five they created, which was rated as lower risk for most hereditary diseases, while also being associated with a higher IQ and slightly taller stature.

The couple is expecting their child in February 2024. This development marks a significant advancement in genetic engineering, with potential implications for future applications in genetic medicine and reproductive health.

According to the Genetic Literacy Project, the ability to engineer embryos that are immune from hereditary diseases could represent a turning point in the field of genetics. The project raises important ethical questions about genetic selection and the implications of designing children with specific traits.

As this technology continues to evolve, it opens up discussions on the responsibilities and consequences of manipulating human genetics.