#1017 - Jonathan Anomaly - What Embryo Selection Means for Humanity

The hosts delve into the strides and concerns of embryo screening science and tech, notably Herocyte's approach, which offers a comprehensive strategy for predicting traits and health outcomes.

Polygenic Risk Scores and Their Predictive Power

Jonathan Anomaly brings to light that polygenic risk scores are a potent tool in genomics, but their efficacy can vary among ancestry groups. This variability is due to the differing extents of data sets—more substantial for some populations, such as Europeans.

Herocyte's Method For Developing Polygenic Risk Scores to Predict Traits and Health Outcomes

Herocyte has developed a method for creating polygenic risk scores. These scores, built using AI models and data from biobanks, project the potential for traits like intelligence, height, and susceptibility to diseases such as schizophrenia and diabetes. The company can predict these traits from DNA data using statistical techniques to adjust sample size for better accuracy across different ancestries.

Herocyte's scores, unlike some, have been vetted and have proven robust in sibling studies. The company is cautious with the traits they target to ensure precision. For instance, they have established the best predictor for type one diabetes and provide data on predictive power loss for different ancestries.

The Process of Embryo Screening and Selection

Herocyte has devised a way to recreate entire embryo genomes from IVF data, allowing for a comprehensive genetic profile.

Herocyte Recreates Embryo Genomes From Ivf Data for Genetic Profiling

Using a technique to reconstruct the complete genome of embryos, Herocyte leverages PGTA—a test for Down's syndrome in embryos—and parental genomes to gain a holistic genomic snapshot. This information, derived from IVF data, allows for detailed genetic profiling, which provides more comprehensive insights than the current standard of visual inspections by doctors.

Comparison to Current Embryo Selection Methods

Currently, the process of selecting embryos during IVF often involves doctors choosing the embryo based on its visual appeal—essentially, how healthy and normally shaped it appears. Herocyte's technology promises an alternative, one that affords every patient in the world the possibility to predict diverse traits and make informed decisions based on precise genetic data beyond morphological assessment.

Some clinics and practitioners may involve patients in these selections if ...

Jonathan Anomaly raises concerns about the gap between public disapproval and private willingness to employ embryo selection technologies, with people more inclined to consider these options when facing genetic predispositions to diseases or infertility.

Concerns About Designer Babies and Eugenics

Selecting Against Diseases Vs. Selecting For Enhancements

Anomaly points to a discrepancy where individuals who might originally dismiss the importance of genetics and intelligence could be more likely to employ embryo selection faced with serious health conditions. The conversation with Chris Williamson addresses differing acceptance levels for selecting embryos to prevent diseases versus selecting for enhancements such as intelligence, evoking concerns about eugenics.

Anomaly acknowledges the genetic diversity and range in traits like intelligence within embryos that allow for preference-based selection. Still, he highlights ethical considerations akin to those raised by designer babies and eugenics, especially with China's potential inclusion of cognitive ability and aggression in their biobank profiling.

Historical fears of eugenics linger, particularly in how European countries grapple with the morality of embryo selection. Anomaly anticipates a shift in policy as norms change, with society becoming more accepting of these practices.

Tackling Fears of Genetic Inequality From Embryo Selection

Anomaly addresses worries that embryo selection may entrench wealth and genetic inequality, although he downplays these fears by noting that the technology can only slightly tweak certain traits.

Embryo selection for disease minimization and cognitive enhancement is framed as akin to parental actions like mate selection and education, with Singaporeans equally supportive of screening for both disease and intelligence.

The democratization of technology could exacerbate access inequalities and stir eugenics fears. Anomaly questions the ethics of doctors being comfortable with screening for monogenic but not polygenic disorders, raising ethical distinctions given both types of traits only elevate risk rather than guarantee conditions.

Implications for Personal Identity and the "Non-identity Problem"

Personhood and Moral Status of Embryos: Philosophical Questions

The thorny philosophical issue arises concerning the moral status and personhood of embryos and how to consider potential children's existence and qualities. Anomaly references Derek Parfit's concept of the "non-identity problem," involving decisions that affect which people will exist in the future.

By extrapolating from Parfit's work, historical philosophers' debates including those from David Hume and John Locke are invoked, with questions around psychological continuity being key to personal identity. Continuity i ...

The conversation investigates the intricate balance between the need for transparency in genetic testing technologies and respecting individual reproductive autonomy, while also acknowledging the broader social impacts and ethical considerations surrounding embryo selection.

Transparency and Validation of Genetic Testing Technologies

The importance of transparency in genetic testing technologies is underscored, noting the contrast between the UK's open access to biobank data and countries like China that are less transparent. Chris Williamson talks about the importance of validating predictive models using genetic samples from adults, which implies the need for genetic testing technologies to be validated accurately.

Anomaly supports transparency, stating companies should publish their validation studies online and ideally in scientific journals. Genetic data validation's significance is highlighted, and there's an insistence that companies demonstrate how their polygenic risk scores are validated and prove their efficacy across different ancestry groups. Companies are urged to explain how much of the genetic variation for any condition their predictors can explain and how their methods work across various groups.

Importance of Companies Publishing Validation Studies and Demonstrating Accuracy Across Populations

Jonathan Anomaly insists on validating polygenic scores, especially across diverse ancestries, to ensure efficacy. He emphasizes that companies offering polygenic scores should provide such validation data, including their own. He stresses the need for companies to demonstrate how their predictors account for genetic variation and validate their methods and results across different ancestry groups.

Societal Norms Over Strict Regulation

Anomaly prefers societal norms and shunning over government regulations to police embryo selection. He questions the need for laws prohibiting the selection of certain traits and suggests societal responses could effectively deter certain choices.

Balancing Individual Reproductive Autonomy With Broader Social Impacts

Debates around individual choice versus equality are central, as Anomaly discusses government subsidies to ensure more equality in access to reproductive technologies. At the same time, there is an emphasis on respecting individual autonomy and choice, as highlighted by the liberation from potential gatekeepers limiting reproductive choices.

Comparing Approaches: Bans vs. Subsidies ...