Elon Musk's start-up Neuralink is facing accusations of harming animals in botched experiments. Employees have linked Musk's orders to speed up research to higher animal deaths, news agency Reuters reported. There is a federal probe going on against the company.
But what is it that Neuralink is testing?
The company is aiming to a create a brain chip that will let users communicate directly with computers or mobile devices.
"Micron-scale threads would be inserted into areas of the brain that control movement," the company says. "Each thread contains many electrodes and connects them to an implant called the Link."
Neuralink said its goal is to help people with paralysis take back their autonomy by controlling devices.
Elon Musk's Neuralink faces federal probe, employee backlash over animal tests
It added that the technology could also be used to potentially treat neurological disorders.
"Eventually it will expand how we interact with each other and experience the world around us.
Musk claimed last week that Neuralink would be ready to implant the device within six months.
"We've submitted I think most of our paperwork to the FDA (US Food and Drug Administration) and we think probably in about six months we should be able to have our first Neuralink in a human," he said during a presentation, according to news agency AFP.
"We've been working hard to be ready for our first human (implant), and obviously we want to be extremely careful and certain that it will work well before putting a device in a human," Musk added.
But the company is lagging. Reuters reported that it has missed deadlines to obtain FDA's go-ahead for human trials.
The company has in the past too faced allegations of animal abuse.
Earlier this year, a complaint had been filed against Neuralink for allegedly mistreating the macaque monkeys it used for testing, the BBC reported.
Neuralink denied the accusations. "The use of every animal was extensively planned and considered to balance scientific discovery with the ethical use of animals," it said.
(With inputs from AFP and Reuters)
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