Animal advocates reveal Elon Musk's Neuralink may have illegally transported pathogens

Animal welfare organisations have announced their intention to get in touch with a US federal agency about Neuralink, the brain implant business owned by Elon Musk, and its records that may indicate the ilegal transportation of dangerous pathogens. The Physicians Committee of Responsible Medicine (PCRM) stated that it had discovered emails and other documents that revealed inappropriate packaging and transportation of implants taken from monkeys' brains in a letter to the U.S. Department of Transportation that was distributed to agencies. These implants may have contained infectious germs in violation of federal law, claims PCRM.

Animal Welfare Organizations have plans to ask US Government Agency to investigate Elon Musk’s brain implant company Neuralink

The group's evidence identified instances of illnesses like the herpes B virus and antibiotic-resistant staphylococcus that may have been transported without the necessary containment measures, the letter claims. The letter from PCRM heightens the scrutiny facing Neuralink, which is developing a brain implant it hopes can help people with disabilities regain their ability to walk and treat other neurological diseases.

According to sources, Neuralink was the focus of a government investigation over potential animal welfare violations in December. Additionally, several of the company's employees had voiced internal concerns about hasty research that led to needless suffering and fatalities. According to the records provided by PCRM, Neuralink relied on the University of California, Davis to help with the execution of its studies on monkeys in 2019, which is when the instances involving potential violations of the hazardous material transportation limits occurred.

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Neuralink’s partnership with UC Davis ended in 2020

The neurosurgeon who oversaw the testing is still employed by Neuralink, according to PCRM, even though their partnership with UC Davis came to an end in 2020. Other individuals who were involved may still be in that position. Reuters looked into the UC Davis records that PCRM highlighted in its letter. It is unknown if more records exist that provide a distinctive or thorough account of what happened. PCRM used the freedom of information legislation to ask UC Davis for the papers. These requests for information do not apply to records or messages sent over Neuralink but not shared with UC Davis.

Requests for comments from representatives of Neuralink, including Musk, and the Department of Transportation went unanswered. A UC Davis spokeswoman would only confirm that the institution complies with all laws governing lab safety and biohazards.Despite not identifying any injury as a result of these instances, PCRM, an organisation that opposes using animals in medical research, stated that Neuralink's actions "may constitute a substantial and ongoing public health danger."

PCRM said in the letter

“The company’s documented track record of sloppy, unsafe laboratory practices compel DOT to investigate and levy appropriate fines,”

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 centre is "at danger" for "monkey tainted hardware."

Wrote an employee whose record was redacted from records

“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,

PCRM has raised concerns about Neuralink in the past

PCRM has already voiced concerns about Neuralink. Using new information it had learned about alleged animal welfare issues that arose during Neuralink's research cooperation with UC Davis, it wrote to federal regulators last year. Sources claim that the USDA Inspector General was handed PCRM's complaint by a federal prosecutor in the Northern District of California, who then launched the federal inquiry into Neuralink. During its collaboration with UC Davis, Neuralink reportedly grew frustrated with the slow pace of primate testing and since then has significantly expanded its own in-house animal testing facilities, according to current and former company employees who talked to Media . The company has slipped short on Musk's deadlines for starting human trials, though. His demands that the Neuralink team proceed led to mistakes in a number of experiments, according to sources.

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