The Chinese company says it is getting closer to helping parents choose the embryo that is most likely to succeed in their future life. Researchers believe that they are already able to determine the IQ of the unborn child with an accuracy of 50-80%. Now the company is busy creating a gene map of people gifted in mathematics in order to isolate the genes that make them smarter than the average person.
BGI set about mapping mathematical genes by collecting DNA samples from mathematical geniuses. She also posted an ad on her website inviting everyone to participate in this highly controversial study. BGI, formerly Beijing Genomics Institute, is the largest genetic research center in the world and has already collected 2,000 DNA samples from people with high IQ levels.
The researchers then plan to compare them to samples of people of average mental capacity. The company hopes that this will help calculate the genes responsible for intellectual ability. In theory, this knowledge could be used to help parents get a "smart embryo."
Other divisions of the Chinese giant are already offering genetic testing for parents-to-be. Researchers believe that the IQ of most children on average differs from the IQ of parents by 13 points. Still, two or three out of every 100 newborn babies are significantly smarter than their parents, researcher Stephen Hsu told Mail Online.
“People think this is a controversial topic, especially in the West,” says CEO Bowen Zhao. "It may be true for the West, but our work is very relevant for China."
In fact, the China Development Bank, a state-owned bank that lends to promising, according to the state, projects, has allocated BGI $ 1.5 billion.
“Imagine if a couple could pay to make sure they get the best of 10 or 50 possible offspring by optimizing the hereditary traits of their choice,” Zhao wrote in a blog post comparing the cost of earning a degree from Harvard versus a private school with several thousand dollars needed to fertilize an egg and implant an embryo.