Musk’s Neuralink in trouble for mishandling contaminated devices removed from monkey brains

The US Department of Transportation (USDOT) is looking into accusations that Elon Musk’s brain implant business may have unlawfully transported equipment contaminated with pathogens that were taken from monkeys. In a letter to the USDOT today, an animal welfare organisation expressed concerns and urged the agency to look into Musk’s business Neuralink “for breaches of the federal hazardous material transportation legislation and punish it appropriately." The goal of Neuralink is to create a system that can operate a computer when it is inserted into the brain. However, Neuralink is already under federal investigation as a result of prior claims of animal cruelty and hurried research that resulted in needless deaths. **Also read: What is nanotechnology and brain computer interface, the tech that Elon Musk's Neuralink uses?** The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM), a non-profit group that opposes the use of animals in medical research, wrote the letter. It’s the same nonprofit that claimed Neuralink had mistreated the animals used to test its technology in violation of the Animal Welfare Act last year. PCRM also claims in a letter that Neuralink’s improper management of implants taken out of monkeys creates “a substantial and ongoing public health risk.” For instance, the implants can have been infected with diseases such the herpes B virus and staphylococcus that is resistant to antibiotics. Employees of Neuralink “appear to have packed and transported” those contaminated products “in a hazardous manner,” possibly due to a lack of legally necessary safety training. Neuralink first implanted its BCI in a monkey, which was then “able to operate a computer with its brain,"  in 2019 according to information revealed by Musk. Since then, Neuralink has displayed footage of monkeys utilising the implants in their skulls to spell words and seem to play video games. Pigs have also received implants from Neuralink. Neuralink is far behind in its efforts to test the devices in humans, despite those tests. Originally scheduled for 2020, that objective has recently been moved to maybe this year. According to reports, missed deadlines have increased pressure on researchers to complete their job more quickly, even at the risk of endangering the animals they use in the process. Now it appears that rushing may also put individuals in danger. This month, PCRM was able to access correspondence between Neuralink and its previous collaborator, the University of California, Davis, about how to manage devices that had been removed from animals. According to PCRM, in 2019 UC Davis staff “repeatedly voiced concerns” regarding Neuralink’s removal and return of explanted devices from the California National Primate Research Center. Also read: Two neurosurgeons weigh in on the feasibility of Musk's brain implant and its potential “Anyone who may come into touch with the explanted neural device is at risk since the hardware components are not sealed and the device was not cleaned before leaving the primate centre. One email sent in March 2019 states, “Simply calling it “dangerous” does not take into consideration the risk of possibly developing Herpes B. The letter claimed that it was submitted by a person who was “likely a UC Davis employee” (names were redacted from the documents). Ultimately, Neuralink lost patience with UC Davis over what it perceived as sluggish progress with animal testing and ceased collaboration with the school in 2020, according to Reuters. Read all the  Latest News ,  Trending News ,  Cricket News ,  Bollywood News , India News  and  Entertainment News  here. Follow us on  Facebook,  Twitter and  Instagram.