According to the US Department of Transportation, Elon Musk’s brain implant firm Neuralink is being looked into by the former over the possibility of illegal transportation of dangerous microorganisms.
After the Physicians Committee of Responsible Medicine (PCRM), an organization that promotes animal welfare, wrote to Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg earlier on Thursday to inform him of records it had obtained on the subject, a Department of Transportation spokesperson informed British news agency Reuters about the investigation.
Emails and other papers seized by PCRM, according to the company, point to sloppy handling and transportation of implants taken from monkeys’ brains. According to PCRM, these implants might have included infectious pathogens in violation of federal law.
The Department of Transportation took the accusations made by PCRM “extremely seriously,” according to a spokesperson.
“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 said.
The investigation by the Department of Transportation intensifies the criticism directed at Neuralink, which is working on a brain implant that it claims would allow paraplegic patients to regain their ability to walk and treat other neurological conditions.
According to Reuters, Neuralink was the subject of a government inquiry in December over possible violations of animal welfare, and some of its employees had raised concerns internally about hurried studies that resulted in needless suffering and deaths.
According to the letter, information the group acquired showed instances of diseases like the herpes B virus and antibiotic-resistant staphylococcus that may have been moved without the required containment procedures.
According to the documents given by PCRM, the instances involving possible violations of the hazardous material transportation restrictions took place in 2019, when Neuralink depended on the University of California, Davis to assist with the execution of its studies on monkeys.
While Neuralink’s collaboration with UC Davis came to an end in 2020, PCRM reported that the company still employs the neurosurgeon who oversaw the tests and that other personnel who were engaged may also be in that position.
The UC Davis records mentioned by PCRM in its letter were examined by Reuters. Whether further records exist that offer a unique or comprehensive account of what transpired is unknown. PCRM requested the documents from UC Davis using the freedom of information act. Such information demands do not apply to Neuralink messages or records that are not shared with UC Davis.
A UC Davis spokeswoman would only confirm that the institution complies with all laws governing lab safety and biohazards.
According to PCRM’s letter, faulty sanitization and packaging resulted in infections being transported on removed implants from monkeys. According to the organization, those bacteria could lead to catastrophic health problems in afflicted people, including pneumonia, bloodstream infections, and severe brain damage.
Whether further records exist that offer a unique or comprehensive account of what transpired is unknown. PCRM requested the documents from UC Davis using the freedom of information act. Such information demands do not apply to Neuralink messages or records that are not shared with UC Davis.
A UC Davis spokeswoman would only confirm that the institution complies with all laws governing lab safety and biohazards.
According to PCRM’s letter, faulty sanitization and packaging resulted in infections being transported on removed implants from monkeys. According to the organisation, those bacteria could lead to catastrophic health problems in afflicted people, including pneumonia, bloodstream infections, and severe brain damage.
In its letter, PCRM said, “The company’s documented track record of sloppy, unsafe laboratory practices compelled DOT to investigate and levy appropriate fines.”
Despite not identifying any injury as a result of these instances, PCRM, an organization that opposes using animals in medical research, stated that Neuralink’s actions “may pose a serious and ongoing public health risk.”
Additionally, PCRM reported finding instances that seem to indicate UC Davis employees asking Neuralink employees to undergo rapid biohazard training in the wake of situations that raised contamination-related concerns. A UC Davis employee once claimed in an email from April 2019 that the institution’s primate center is “at risk” for “monkey contaminated hardware.”
The employee, whose name was deleted from the records, wrote, “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.”
In the past, PCRM has expressed concerns regarding Neuralink. It wrote to federal regulators last year, citing further information it had acquired, regarding claimed animal welfare problems that occurred during Neuralink’s research collaboration with UC Davis. According to Reuters, a federal prosecutor in the Northern District of California forwarded PCRM’s complaint to the USDA Inspector General, who subsequently started the federal investigation into Neuralink.
According to current and former firm workers who spoke to Reuters, Neuralink became upset with the slow pace of primate testing during its cooperation with UC Davis and has since developed substantial in-house animal testing facilities. However, the business has fallen behind on Musk’s deadlines for moving on to human trials.
