They say that the more money, the more problems. In the case of Elon Musk, in addition to silver, the more companies, the more headaches. And it is that the tycoon not only has to navigate the turbulent waters of Twitter, but is now under the magnifying glass of the United States government.
The US Department of Transportation (DOT), the government agency that runs the other state transportation departments, is investigating Neuralink, Musk’s brain implant company, posing a new hurdle in its intent to create a neural interface to the human brain.
According to a report published on the website of esquirefollowing a letter from the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine to the DOT, the Reuters agency reported that the aforementioned Department opened an investigation on Neuralink for “unsafe handling of dangerous pathogens after the extraction of the implants from the brain of monkeys.”
Unsafe packaging and transportation
The letter states that “individuals working for Neuralink appear to have unsafely packaged and transported materials carrying infectious pathogens on several occasions.” In this case, the materials referred to in the text are implants extracted from the brains of non-human primates.
The text alleges that an employee of the University of California, Davis, ignored the regulation during an experiment carried out in 2019.
For its part, a spokesperson told Reuters: “We are conducting an investigation to ensure that Neuralink fully complies with federal regulations and keeps its workers and the public safe from potentially dangerous pathogens.”
Neuralink, so far, has done tests with monkeys and pigs. Musk, 51, is aiming to create a neural interface that surgeons implant directly into the brain, which could restore motor function and treat neurological disorders in patients in need.