The US Department of Transportation has announced that it is investigating Neuralink for implanting chips in the brain of billionaire Elon Musk.
The ministry said it was investigating the possible illegal movement of dangerous pathogens. to the network USA News NBC.
A spokesman for the US Department of Transportation said it launched an investigation after receiving a letter from the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, an animal rights group, notifying them of records it had received on the matter.
In a letter to U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, the committee said it had received emails and other documents revealing “the unsafe packaging and handling of implants removed from monkey brains,” expressing concerns that the implants could carry infectious diseases. … in violation of federal law.”
The letter said records received by the medical committee “show cases of pathogens such as antibiotic-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and herpes B virus that could have been transmitted without appropriate containment measures,” according to the committee’s proposal.
Committee members pointed out that pathogens were transferred to implants that were removed from monkey brains after improper sterilization and packaging, emphasizing that “these pathogens can cause serious health problems in an infected person, such as bloodstream infections, pneumonia, and severe brain damage.” , among other problems.
A spokesman for the US Department of Transportation confirmed that it took the accusations of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine “very seriously”.
“We are investigating to make sure Neuralink is fully compliant with federal regulations and to protect our employees and the public from dangerous pathogens,” he said.
Neuralink has been working for months on a brain implant that could help paralyzed people walk again, in addition to treating other neurological conditions.
Billionaire Elon Musk said in December 2022 that he expects a wireless brain chip developed by his company Neuralink to begin human clinical trials within 6 months.
That same month, Neuralink became the subject of a federal investigation into possible animal rights violations and that some of its employees filed internal complaints about speeding up trials, resulting in unnecessary suffering and death.
Source: US agencies + media