Elon Musk’s Neuralink, a company that designs and manufactures implantable brain-computer interfaces, is under federal investigation over animal testing. The reason was the complaints of the staff. In particular, employees of the company claim that the tests are carried out in a hurry, and this leads to animal suffering and death.
Neuralink is developing a brain implant that should help people in need in the treatment of serious brain diseases. According to Reuters, which obtained the documents, the investigation was initiated by the inspector general of the USDA at the request of the federal prosecutor under the article on violation of the animal welfare law. This law specifically regulates research and testing on animals. According to more than 20 Neuralink employees, the company had to repeat unsuccessful experiments many times, which increased the number of animals tested. Accordingly, the number of their deaths also increased. The documents contain messages, audio recordings, emails, presentations and reports that prove it all. Musk and other Neuralink executives have not yet responded to inquiries from the publication.
Since 2018, the company has killed about 1,500 animals in tests, including more than 280 sheep, pigs and monkeys, according to reports, as well as sources familiar with Neuralink’s activities. This figure is an estimate as the company does not keep accurate records of the number of animals tested and deceased. Researchers often euthanize animals at the end of experiments so that they can be further studied for scientific purposes. However, current and former Neuralink employees claim that the number of animal deaths is higher than it should be. The reasons are attributed to Musk’s demands to speed up research. In particular, four experiments were identified involving 86 pigs and 2 monkeys that died due to human error. One employee complained about compressed schedules, which led to poor preparation and undue stress on staff. They struggled to meet deadlines and made last-minute changes before operations, raising the risk to the animals.
The five people who worked on Neuralink’s animal experiments told Reuters they favored a more traditional approach to testing. They adhered to animal studies testing one element at a time and drawing appropriate conclusions before moving on to other tests. Instead, Neuralink forced them to do tests in quick succession and not fix problems. This approach, in their opinion, led to repeated tests. Requests for more thorough research were rejected by management. Apparently, Musk is in a hurry to conduct human trials, and such problems could postpone the company’s application indefinitely, the publication believes.
Earlier this year, a group of doctors’ animal rights committee blamed Neuralink for botched surgeries that killed monkeys. The company admitted that six monkeys died in a joint study with the University of California, Davis, but said it did not violate any laws.
Some of Neuralink’s competitors have done better. For example, a 2016 startup, Synchron, is developing an implant that has already received FDA approval for human trials. The company’s device allows paralyzed people to type and send messages. The Synchron staff also conducted animal testing, but according to reports, only about 80 sheep died during their experiments.
Source: Trash Box
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