Sometimes the genes we inherit from our ancestors carry little time bombs - the potential for inherited diseases, or a predisposition to a particular health disorder. Now, a group of British fertility specialists have developed a powerful new way to test embryos for inherited diseases, boosting the number of diseases clinics can test for from about 200 to nearly 6,000.

For couples at risk of passing on certain diseases, the new test provides an alternative to the difficult decision of whether or not to have children knowing they might pass on a disease - providing instead a chance at having healthy children. As reported in The Guardian, the new technique allows doctors can screen every embryo created for a couple through IVF, and "determine whether each is healthy and unaffected, a carrier of the disease, or destined to develop the full-blown medical condition."

Since the test compares DNA from the embryo with DNA from a family member known to be affected with a particular disease, it is very important to be familiar with your family medical history. Understanding your risk of developing a disease or passing it on to your children is an important first step in making informed decisions about prevention, screening and treatment.

Would you consider using a screening method such as this to provide a better chance at having healthy children? Click on "comments" below to share your thoughts.