Elon Musk's Neuralink is under Investigation for the Potential Transfer of Contaminated Hardware.

The Department of Transportation is now investigating Elon Musk's brain-computer interface startup Neuralink for allegedly packing and transporting infected technology in a hazardous way, a DOT representative confirmed to Trade Algo.
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In a letter sent to Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg on Thursday, the animal-welfare organization Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine asserted that it had obtained public records indicating that Neuralink may have mishandled devices containing infectious pathogens that posed risks to human health in 2019.

According to the letter, the devices were extracted from the brains of non-human primates. They may have been infected with viruses such as Herpes B and antibiotic-resistant bacteria such as Staphylococcus and Klebsiella. PCRM asserted that the compounds were not kept or transported appropriately, presumably because Neuralink staff lacked adequate safety training.
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A DOT official told Trade Algothat investigating any infractions of hazardous materials transportation standards is a "routine procedure." The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, a division of the Department of Transportation, is conducting a "routine inquiry to assure compliance to the public safety of workers and the people" based on information obtained by PCRM, according to a spokesman.
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Neuralink is one of several firms in the burgeoning BCI (brain-computer interface) market. A brain-computer interface (BCI) is a system that interprets brain impulses and transforms them into orders for external technologies, enabling patients to move cursors, type, and even access smart home gadgets using just their brains. Multiple firms have developed gadgets with these characteristics.
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Musk, who is also the CEO of Tesla, SpaceX, and Twitter, co-founded Neuralink with a team of scientists and engineers in 2016. The business is creating a BCI that is intended to be put directly into brain tissue, and although it has not yet conducted human testing, Musk has stated that he intends to do so this year.
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Trade Algo has studied the public data obtained by PCRM, which includes correspondence between Neuralink and the University of California, Davis. Between 2017 and 2020, the university collaborated with Neuralink to assist the firm in undertaking tests on monkeys. In a March 2019 email conversation, an unidentified UC Davis employee stated that hardware had been improperly handled and that the transfer of hazardous goods required a skilled hazardous material handler.

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The staffer said that UC Davis officials were "always happy" to package and transport supplies if Neuralink employees had not completed the requisite training.
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"Since the hardware components of the explanted neural device are not sealed, and it was not cleaned before leaving the Primate Center, this poses a risk to anyone who may conceivably come into touch with the device," the UC Davis employee said in an email. The risk of potentially developing Herpes B is not accounted for by merely classifying it as 'hazardous.'

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In another April 2019 incident, an unidentified UC Davis employee reported in an email that three explanted devices had arrived in an "open package without additional packaging." The employee stated that the uncontained, primate-contaminated equipment posed a threat to Primate Center personnel.

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The staffer stated in an email, "This is a risk to everyone who comes into touch with the contaminated explanted hardware, and we are making a big deal about it because we are worried about human safety."
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PCRM received these documents from UC Davis by submitting a request for public information. As a private company, Neuralink is not subject to public records regulations. UC Davis representatives did not reply to calls for comment.
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PCRM opposes the use of animals in medical research, and the organization has previously expressed concerns about Neuralink. The organization filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Agriculture in February 2022, saying that Neuralink had violated the Animal Welfare Act during its collaboration with UC Davis. Reuters reports that the USDA Inspector General has begun a federal investigation into the firm after receiving the complaint.

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In December, the advocacy organization also requested that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration examine Neuralink for potential violations of good laboratory standards.

USDA and FDA representatives did not reply to requests for comment.

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Director of research advocacy at PCRM Ryan Merkley told Trade Algo that the newest inquiry by the DOT reveals that Neuralink has been "sloppy in an entirely different way." He stated that there is no proof that anybody was infected due to exposure to the hardware but that the tone of the UC Davis employees' emails "reflects the gravity of this possible pathogen spill." 

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"This is an entirely different issue that impacts not just the animals involved but also the humans working at Neuralink, the people at UC Davis, and everyone they interacted with," he explained.