Elon Musk’s Neuralink to Be Investigated Over Probably Hazardous Pathogens

The US Division of Transportation mentioned on Thursday it’s investigating Elon Musk’s brain-implant firm Neuralink over the doubtless unlawful motion of hazardous pathogens.

A Division of Transportation spokesperson advised Reuters in regards to the probe after the Physicians Committee of Accountable Medication (PCRM), an animal-welfare advocacy group, wrote to Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg earlier on Thursday to alert it of data it obtained on the matter.

PCRM mentioned it obtained emails and different paperwork that recommend unsafe packaging and motion of implants faraway from the brains of monkeys. These implants could have carried infectious ailments in violation of federal legislation, PCRM mentioned.

The Division of Transportation spokesperson mentioned the company took PCRM’s allegations “very seriously.”

“We are conducting an investigation to ensure that Neuralink is in full compliance with federal regulations and keeping their workers and the public safe from potentially dangerous pathogens,” the spokesperson mentioned.

Representatives for Neuralink, together with Musk, didn’t reply to remark requests.

The Division of Transportation probe provides to the scrutiny going through Neuralink, which is growing a mind implant it hopes will assist paralyzed individuals stroll once more and remedy different neurological illnesses.

In December, Reuters reported that Neuralink has been underneath a federal investigation over potential animal welfare violations and that a few of its employees made inner complaints about experiments being rushed, inflicting unnecessary struggling and deaths.

The letter mentioned data that the group obtained confirmed cases of pathogens, akin to antibiotic-resistant staphylococcus and herpes B virus, that will have been transported with out correct containment measures.

The incidents that concerned potential breaches of hazardous materials transportation laws occurred in 2019, when Neuralink relied on College of California, Davis to assist perform its experiments on primates, based on the paperwork cited by PCRM.

Whereas Neuralink’s partnership with UC Davis led to 2020, PCRM mentioned the corporate continues to make use of the neurosurgeon who oversaw the experiments and different employees concerned may nonetheless be employed.

Reuters reviewed the UC Davis data cited by PCRM in its letter. It’s unclear whether or not additional data exist that present a unique or fuller account of what occurred. PCRM obtained the data from UC Davis via public info requests. Neuralink messages and data not shared with UC Davis usually are not topic to such info requests.

A UC Davis spokesperson would solely say that the college abides by all biohazard and lab security laws.

PCRM’s letter mentioned pathogens had been carried on eliminated implants from monkeys after improper sanitization and packaging. The group mentioned these pathogens may trigger severe well being points in contaminated people, akin to bloodstream infections, pneumonia and extreme mind harm, amongst different issues.

PCRM, which opposes using animals in medical analysis, didn’t establish any hurt because of these incidents, however mentioned Neuralink’s actions “may pose a serious and ongoing public health risk.”

“The company’s documented track record of sloppy, unsafe laboratory practices compel DOT to investigate and levy appropriate fines,” PCRM mentioned within the letter.

PCRM mentioned it additionally discovered cases that seem to explain UC Davis workers urging instant biohazard coaching for Neuralink workers following incidents that had brought on contamination issues. On one event in April 2019, a UC Davis worker wrote in an electronic mail that the college’s primate middle is “at risk” for “monkey contaminated hardware.”

“This is an exposure to anyone coming in contact with the contaminated explanted hardware and we are making a big deal about this because we are concerned for human safety,” wrote the worker, whose title was redacted from the data.

PCRM has raised issues about Neuralink previously. Final yr, it wrote to federal officers about alleged animal-welfare points throughout Neuralink’s analysis partnership with UC Davis, citing one other set of data it obtained. A federal prosecutor within the Northern District of California referred PCRM’s grievance to the USDA Inspector Common, which later launched the federal probe into Neuralink, Reuters beforehand reported.

Throughout its partnership with UC Davis, Neuralink grew pissed off with what it considered the gradual tempo of testing on primates, present and former firm workers advised Reuters, and has since constructed out intensive in-house animal testing amenities. The corporate has missed deadlines set by Musk to proceed to human trials, nonetheless. His strain on Neuralink’s employees to make progress contributed to errors plaguing some experiments, Reuters reported.

© Thomson Reuters 2023