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The coming brave new world of designer babies

Genetic testing and other genomic services will likely be a hit in Asia

    • As the World Population Review notes, Japan, Taiwan and South Korea top the list for plastic surgery among East Asians.
    • As the World Population Review notes, Japan, Taiwan and South Korea top the list for plastic surgery among East Asians. PHOTO: BLOOMBERG
    Mohan Kuppusamy
    Published Tue, Feb 10, 2026 · 06:00 PM

    WOULD you pay US$30,000 to ensure that your future child would have a high IQ or won’t develop disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease?

    Posters in New York subways now display catchphrases such as “Have your best baby”, promoting tests for genes that influence a baby’s traits, including eye colour, hair colour and intelligence. Another advertisement urges would-be parents to preview their future child.

    One company, Nucleus Genomics, founded by 26-year-old Kian Sadeghi, claims, for the above fee, it will screen 20 embryos for 2,000 traits and conditions, including eye colour, acne, left-handedness and baldness.

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