Elon Musk's Neuralink may have illegally transported pathogens, animal advocates say

The U.S. Department of Transportation is investigating Elon Musk's brain-implant company — Neuralink — over allegations of illegally moving hazardous pathogens, after an animal rights group says it found evidence.

A department spokesperson told Reuters about the probe after the Physicians Committee of Responsible Medicine (PCRM), an animal-welfare advocacy group, wrote to Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg last Thursday to alert it of records it obtained on the matter.

The advocacy group says it obtained emails and documents that suggest the unsafe packaging and movement of implants removed from the brains of monkeys.

These implants may have carried infectious diseases in violation of federal law, according to the advocacy group.

The Department of Transportation spokesperson said the agency took these allegations "very seriously."

"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.

Representatives for Neuralink, including Musk, did not respond to comment requests.

The probe adds to the scrutiny facing Neuralink, which is developing a brain implant it hopes will help paralyzed people walk again and cure other neurological ailments.

In December, Reuters reported that Neuralink has been under a federal investigation over potential animal welfare violations and that some of its staff made internal complaints about experiments being rushed, causing needless suffering and deaths.

The PCRM, which opposes the use of animals in medical research, claims the pathogens — such as the antibiotic-resistant staphylococcus and herpes B virus — were carried on removed implants from monkeys after improper sanitization and packaging.

No harm demonstrated 

The group said those pathogens could cause serious health issues in infected humans, such as bloodstream infections, pneumonia and severe brain damage, among other problems.

No harm was demonstrated as a result of the alleged incidents, but the advocacy group said that Neuralink's actions "may pose a serious and ongoing public health risk."

"The company's documented track record of sloppy, unsafe laboratory practices compel DOT to investigate and levy appropriate fines," PCRM said in the letter to government officials.

The incidents allegedly happened in 2019, when Neuralink relied on University of California, Davis to help carry out its experiments on primates, according to the documents cited by the animal-rights group.

Reuters reviewed the UC Davis records cited by the PCRM in its letter. It is unclear whether further records exist that provide a different or fuller account of what happened.

The PCRM obtained those records through public information requests.

A UC Davis spokesperson would only say that the university abides by all biohazard and lab safety regulations.

The documents appear to show UC Davis employees urging immediate biohazard training for Neuralink employees following incidents that had caused contamination concerns.

In April 2019, a UC Davis employee wrote in an email that the university's primate centre was "at risk" for "monkey contaminated hardware."

"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," wrote the employee, whose name was redacted.

During its partnership with UC Davis, Neuralink grew frustrated with what it regarded as the slow pace of testing on primates.