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☆ Musk's Neuralink brain implant company cited by FDA over animal lab issues
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-29 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The inspectors identified quality control lapses at the company's California animal research facility. Those visits took place last year from June 12-22, and represent the FDA's sole inspections of Neuralink facilities on record. The laboratory problems identified by FDA inspectors included missing calibration records for instruments such as a pH meter used in one of the studies. An animal welfare advocacy group, Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, submitted a formal complaint to both USDA and FDA over the alleged breaches. In July, the USDA said it did not find any violations of its animal research rules beyond a 2019 incident that Neuralink had already reported.

Persons: Elon Musk's, Jerry L, Chapman, Lou Gehrig's, Neuralink Organizations: Food, Drug Administration, Elon, Elon Musk's Neuralink, Reuters, Redica Systems, FDA, U.S . Department of Agriculture, Physicians, Responsible Medicine Locations: California, Neuralink's Texas

☆ Elon Musk denies Neuralink monkeys died gruesome deaths, saying they live in 'monkey paradise'
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-30 | by ( Tom Carter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Elon Musk said at the NYT Dealbook conference that Neuralink's monkeys live in "monkey paradise." It comes after reports that several died painful deaths as a result of Neuralink's implant. The brain interface company is planning to start human trials next year, with thousands signing up. AdvertisementElon Musk said that Neuralink's test monkeys live in "monkey paradise," despite reports that several died gruesome and painful deaths as a result of the company's brain implant. AdvertisementIn a letter to the SEC earlier this year , the non-profit Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine said that Musk's comments about the safety of Neuralink's brain interface had misled investors.

Persons: Elon Musk, —, Musk, Neuralink Organizations: NYT, Service, The New York Times, SpaceX, SEC, Responsible Medicine, Business

☆ Elon Musk's Neuralink raises more cash ahead of human trials next year
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-27 | by ( Jyoti Mann | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Neuralink has raised another $43 million, per an SEC filing, as it faces mounting scrutiny. Billionaire investor Peter Thiel's Founders Fund led the latest round, TechCrunch reported. AdvertisementElon Musk's controversial brain implant company Neuralink has raised more funding as it gears up to start human trials. The latest round was led by billionaire investor Peter Thiel's Founders Fund, TechCrunch reported. The latest funding round comes as Elon Musk faces further criticism over the deaths of monkeys that Neuralink used to test its chips.

Persons: Neuralink, Peter Thiel's, —, Elon, Elon Musk, Gary Gensler, Musk, Luke, Optimus, Neuralink didn't Organizations: SEC, Fund, TechCrunch, Service, Elon, Responsible Medicine, Business

☆ Elon Musk should face an SEC probe over his claims that no monkeys died as a result of Neuralink implants, lawmakers say
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-23 | by ( Tom Carter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Elon Musk is facing scrutiny over his comments related to the Neuralink monkeys, per a Wired report. Lawmakers are calling for an investigation after he said no monkeys had died due to the brain chip. AdvertisementElon Musk is facing renewed scrutiny over the deaths of Neuralink's test monkeys as the company prepares to begin human trials. The news comes after reports that a dozen monkeys experienced a range of health issues after having the implant installed, before they were eventually euthanized. Musk has long faced intense controversy over claims that the monkeys Neuralink tested its brain interface technology on had experienced "extreme suffering."

Persons: Elon Musk, —, Elon, Gary Gensler, Musk, Earl Blumenauer, Barbara Lee, James McGovern, Tony Cárdenas, Neuralink, quadriplegia Organizations: Service, SEC, Wired, Medicine, FDA, Business

☆ Elon Musk says Neuralink can create the 'Luke Skywalker solution' amid claims over monkey deaths
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-21 | by ( Tom Carter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The company has started recruiting for its first human trials after receiving FDA approval. Neuralink is facing claims that monkeys implanted with its chips suffered painful deaths. "When a Neuralink is combined with Optimus robot limbs, the Luke Skywalker solution can become real." When a Neuralink is combined with Optimus robot limbs, the Luke Skywalker solution can become real.https://t.co/Tr5Pa4Xfte — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 20, 2023Tesla's Optimus robot, meanwhile, was unveiled in a demonstration at its AI day last year. Musk's comments came as Neuralink faced fresh controversy over the deaths of macaque monkeys implanted with the company's brain chip.

Persons: Elon Musk, Luke, Neuralink, Musk, Optimus, quadriplegia, Tr5Pa4Xfte — Elon, Musk's Organizations: Service, Securities and Exchange Commission, Responsible Medicine, Wired, SEC, FDA Locations: Wall, Silicon

☆ Elon Musk's claim that no monkey died as a result of Neuralink implants contradicts records that show how the animals experienced brain swelling, paralysis, seizures, and other health effects, letter
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-21 | by ( Lloyd Lee | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Elon Musk's Neuralink used monkeys to test its brain chip that can connect to a device. Musk said on X, formerly Twitter, that "no monkeys died as a result of Neuralink's chips." "First our early implants, to minimize risk to health monkeys, we chose terminal moneys (close to death already)," Musk wrote on September 10, misspelling monkeys. Other health effects included paralysis, seizures, loss of coordination and balance, and depression, PCRM wrote in the SEC letter. The average age of the dozen monkeys that died during Neuralink's research was 7.25 years, the group said.

Persons: Elon Musk's Neuralink, Musk, Elon Musk, PCRM, Andy Fell, UC Davis Organizations: SEC, Service, Securities and Exchange Commission, Responsible Medicine, WIRED, University of California, Primate Research Center, YouTube, UC Davis, UC, Neuralink, Care, California National Primate Research Center Locations: Wall, Silicon, Davis, California

☆ Regulator says found no animal welfare breaches at Musk firm beyond 2019 incident
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-19 | by ( Marisa Taylor | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

July 19 (Reuters) - The head of the U.S. agency responsible for animal welfare has told lawmakers that it did not find any violations of animal research rules at Elon Musk's Neuralink beyond a 2019 incident the brain implant company had already reported. The inspection included visits at Neuralink's two facilities in January 2023, Vilsack wrote, adding that there would be more inspections. Vilsack said in his letter his agency did not include in its inspection citations an "adverse surgical event" at Neuralink that occurred in August 2019. The company proactively reported it and took corrective action, which complied with the policy at the time, Vilsack added. The mistakes weakened the experiments' research value and required the tests to be repeated, leading to more animals being killed.

Persons: Thomas Vilsack, Earl Blumenauer, Vilsack, Musk, Neuralink, Blumenauer, Ryan Merkley, Marisa Taylot, Greg Roumeliotis, Robert Birsel Organizations: U.S, Elon Musk's, Department of Agriculture, Reuters, USDA, Physicians, Responsible Medicine, Neuralink, University of California, UC Davis, Drug Administration, FDA, Department of Transportation, Washington , D.C, Thomson Locations: Neuralink, Davis, Washington ,

☆ Aubrey Plaza's satirical ad for 'wood milk' violated federal law, a new complaint says
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-30 | by ( Alex Bitter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The spot used USDA funds to disparage plant-based milk, per a complaint filed with the USDA. The ad, which was created using funding from a US Department of Agriculture program to promote dairy milk, features Plaza talking up "Wood Milk," a milk alternative made from trees. Right now, the Food and Drug Administration is seeking public comments on proposed labeling guidelines for plant-based milk. While just 15% of all milk sold in the US in 2022 was plant-based, the category is growing faster than cow's milk: Plant-based milk sales grew 8% to $2.8 billion in 2022, according to the Plant Based Foods Association. Plant-based milk companies have engaged in ad stunts of their own.

Persons: Aubrey Plaza, —, Silk Organizations: USDA, Service, US Department of Agriculture, Committee, Responsible Medicine, Food and Drug Administration, Plaza, Based Foods

☆ Elon Musk's brain implant company Neuralink announces FDA approval of in-human clinical study
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-25 | by ( Ashley Capoot | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Neuralink, the neurotech startup co-founded by Elon Musk, announced Thursday it has received approval from the Food and Drug Administration to conduct its first in-human clinical study. A BCI is a system that deciphers brain signals and translates them into commands for external technologies. But receiving FDA approval for a commercial medical device is no small task — it requires companies to successfully conduct several extremely thorough rounds of testing and data safety collection. But by receiving the go-ahead for a study with human patients, Neuralink is one step closer to market. The FDA's approval for an in-human study is a significant win for Neuralink after a series of recent hurdles at the company.

☆ Elon Musk's Neuralink is under investigation for possible unsafe transport of contaminated hardware
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-11 | by ( Ashley Capoot | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Elon Musk's brain-computer interface company Neuralink is being investigated by the U.S. Department of Transportation for allegedly packaging and transporting contaminated hardware in an unsafe manner, a DOT spokesperson confirmed to CNBC. PCRM claimed the materials were not properly contained or transported, possibly because Neuralink employees had not received proper safety training. The staffer wrote that if Neuralink employees had not completed the necessary training, UC Davis personnel were "always happy" to package and ship materials. PCRM obtained these records from UC Davis through a public information request. Representatives from UC Davis did not respond to requests for comment.

☆ U.S. investigating Elon Musk's Neuralink over hazardous pathogens
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( Rachael Levy | Thomson Reuters | Award-Winning Journalist Covering Corporate Governance. Her Reporting Has Prompted Federal Investigations | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Feb 9 (Reuters) - The U.S. Department of Transportation said on Thursday it is investigating Elon Musk's brain-implant company Neuralink over the potentially illegal movement of hazardous pathogens. The Department of Transportation spokesperson said the agency took PCRM's allegations "very seriously." Reuters reviewed the UC Davis records cited by PCRM in its letter. Neuralink messages and records not shared with UC Davis are not subject to such information requests. A UC Davis spokesperson would only say that the university abides by all biohazard and lab safety regulations.

☆ Elon Musk's brain-chip startup is being investigated over potentially moving hazardous pathogens after monkey tests
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( Grace Kay | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The US Department of Transportation is investigating whether Neuralink transported hazardous pathogens. Activists alleged Neuralink had not properly transported brain chips from monkey test subjects. The animal rights group has criticized Neuralink in the past over its use of monkeys. A spokesperson for Neuralink did not respond to a request for comment from Insider ahead of publication. A spokesperson for UC Davis told Insider that the institution complies with lab safety and biohazard regulations.

☆ Elon Musk's Neuralink may have illegally transported pathogens, animal advocates say
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( Rachael Levy | Thomson Reuters | Award-Winning Journalist Covering Corporate Governance. Her Reporting Has Prompted Federal Investigations | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Reuters reviewed the UC Davis records cited by PCRM in its letter. PCRM obtained the records from UC Davis through public information requests. Neuralink messages and records not shared with UC Davis are not subject to such information requests. A UC Davis spokesperson would only say that the university abides by all biohazard and lab safety regulations. During its partnership with UC Davis, Neuralink grew frustrated with what it regarded as the slow pace of testing on primates, current and former company employees told Reuters, and has since built out extensive in-house animal testing facilities.

The agency did not respond to requests for comment on its record monitoring animal research experiments nationally. The USDA inspector general has published at least three reports since 2014 critical of the agency’s lax oversight, though its criticism dates back to the 1990s. Neuralink says on its website that it champions animal welfare and tries to reduce animal testing where possible. Two academic studies conducted in 2009 and 2012 found that animal research committees approved between 98% and 99% of experiments proposed by researchers. Envigo was made to sign the consent decree giving up the beagles only after the USDA inspector general and the Justice Department investigated and found evidence of inhumane treatment.

☆ U.S. lawmakers push for more oversight of Elon Musk's Neuralink
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-08 | by ( Rachael Levy | Thomson Reuters | Award-Winning Journalist Covering Corporate Governance. Her Reporting Has Prompted Federal Investigations | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Dec 8 (Reuters) - U.S. House Representatives Earl Francis Blumenauer and Adam Schiff want further U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) scrutiny of Elon Musk's Neuralink following a Reuters report that outlined mistakes in the brain chip company's animal testing program, their offices said on Thursday. A USDA spokesperson said the agency could not comment on Neuralink and referred Reuters to the inspector general's office, which also declined to comment. In total, the company has killed about 1,500 animals, including more than 280 sheep, pigs and monkeys, following experiments since 2018, Reuters found. Blumenauer's and Schiff's offices declined to comment on what they want the USDA to do beyond the inspector general's investigation. Schiff has also been critical of Musk's $44 billion acquisition of Twitter Inc, accusing him of "sabotaging safeguards against digital misinformation and hate."

☆ Elon Musk reportedly told workers at his brain-chip startup to imagine they had bombs strapped to their heads to make them work faster
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( Grace Kay | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Elon Musk told Neuralink staff to imagine they had bombs strapped to their heads to drive faster work, Reuters reported. Employees told Reuters Musk's push for speed led to an increase in the number of animals killed in testing. One former staffer said that Musk told workers he'd initiate a "market failure" at the company if employees couldn't speed up progress, Reuters reported. Earlier this year, Musk told workers in an email that the company wasn't moving fast enough, per Reuters. It's not the first time Musk has been known to push employees to work at a break-neck pace.

☆ Exclusive: Musk’s Neuralink faces federal probe, employee backlash over animal tests
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-05 | by ( Rachael Levy | Thomson Reuters | Award-Winning Journalist Covering Corporate Governance. Her Reporting Has Prompted Federal Investigations | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +16 min

Reuters could not determine the full scope of the federal investigation or whether it involved the same alleged problems with animal testing identified by employees in Reuters interviews. Musk has pushed hard to accelerate Neuralink’s progress, which depends heavily on animal testing, current and former employees said. Delcianna Winders, director of the Animal Law and Policy Institute at the Vermont Law and Graduate School, said it is “very unusual” for the USDA inspector general to investigate animal research facilities. In September, the company responded to employee concerns about its animal testing by holding a town hall to explain its processes. “We’re extremely careful,” he said, to make sure that testing is “confirmatory, not exploratory,” using animal testing as a last resort after trying other methods.

☆ Elon Musk showed off updates to his brain chips and said he’s going to install one in himself when they are ready
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( Ashley Capoot | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Elon Musk's health tech venture Neuralink shared updates to its brain-implant technology during a "show and tell" recruitment event Wednesday night. "We're confident there are no physical limitations to restoring full body functionality," Musk said. Neuralink could begin to test the motor cortex technology in humans in as soon as six months, Musk said. "You could have a Neuralink device implanted right now and you wouldn't even know. Musk showed footage of a monkey with a computer chip in its skull playing "telepathic video games," which Neuralink first debuted over a year ago.

☆ Elon Musk's brain-chip startup shares video it says shows a monkey telepathically 'typing'
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( Grace Kay | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Elon Musk shared a video he said showed a monkey with a brain chip selecting letters with its mind. The demo video was shown at Neuralink's show-and-tell event on Wednesday night. In the demo video, the monkey appears to type out words on a screen using only his mind, thanks to an implanted brain chip. Last year, Neuralink shared a demo video that appeared to show a monkey playing the video game "Pong," using only its mind. The year before, Neuralink shared footage that appeared to be neural readouts from a chip that had been implanted in a pig.

☆ Animal rights group seeks release of 185 pictures related to the autopsies of animals that died during experiments for Elon Musk's Neuralink
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-27 | by ( Grace Kay | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

An animal-rights group says UC Davis has 371 photos showing Neuralink's experiments on monkeys. UC Davis and Neuralink have refuted the claims its test animals experienced "extreme suffering." The group said they learned of the photos through a legal document from UC Davis dated September 7, 2022. A spokesperson from Neuralink did not respond to a request for comment and a UC Davis spokesperson referred Insider to a previous statement. "Animal research is strictly regulated and UC Davis follows all applicable laws and regulations including those of the US Department of Agriculture," the statement said.

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