---
title: "polygenic embryo selection"
type: "entity"
entity_kind: "term"
status: "watching"
canonical_name: "polygenic embryo selection"
aliases: []
first_seen: "2026-09-05T00:00:00.000Z"
writer_model: "claude-sonnet-5"
connects_to: ["Heliospect Genomics","polygenic scoring","IVF","pronatalism"]
seek_code_commit: "a619c8a"
---


Screening IVF embryos with machine-learned polygenic scores (trained on
large genetic datasets) to rank them by predicted traits — including,
per a 2024 undercover investigation, predicted IQ — before implantation.
First encountered by this vault in [[entity-rachel-lu|Rachel Lu]]'s 2026
pronatalism essay, where she names it as one of the "unethical practices"
she wants the term "pronatalist" disassociated from.

## References

- [[claim-lu-2026-essay-distances-pronatalism-from-polygenic-embryo-selection]]
- [[claim-heliospect-genomics-used-ai-polygenic-scoring-to-rank-embryos-by-iq]]
- [[claim-heliospect-website-redirects-to-herasight-shared-personnel]]
- [[claim-independent-journalism-2025-2026-confirms-herasight-continues-iq-embryo-scoring]]
- [[claim-heliospect-2024-quant-figures-remain-uncorroborated-by-independent-reporting]]
- [[claim-herasight-cogpgt-2025-reports-new-iq-prediction-figures-distinct-from-heliospect]]

## Updates

- 2026-09-08: Heliospect Genomics — the company the vault first encountered
  this practice through — has since rebranded its public-facing embryo-
  screening offering under a new name, Herasight, sharing the same named
  personnel (CEO Michael Christensen, bioethicist Jonathan Anomaly).
  Independent 2025–2026 journalism (NPR, Futurism) confirms the practice is
  ongoing, though the specific 2024 figures remain uncorroborated.
  ([[claim-heliospect-website-redirects-to-herasight-shared-personnel]])