Neuralink hits some obstacles
Space X's latest explosion and the sharp decline in Tesla's stock had our team curious about Neuralink. Initially, after some advances in the human in vivo experiments, Neuralink hit an obstacle: the threads were retracting from the brain, slowing down the data speeds and effectiveness of the device planted inside three human brains. Unable to solve for the retraction issues, the development team at the company made the chip more sensitive so the diminished capacity induced by retraction would still allow the chip to work.
In December, the SEC announced that it was reopening the fraud investigation regarding Neuralink. The claim being investigated was that Neuralink had not be honest with investors regarding the safety of the implant. Unfortunately, the staff conducting the investigations were some of the first fired after DOGE began it's effort to reduce waste and fraud in the federal government. Among the claims are that the monkeys in the animal experiments were tortured and that 65% of the monkeys died in the experiment. Musk insists that the deaths were natural causes and had nothing to do with Neuralink. USDA leader Phyllis Fong was investigating the animal cruelty claims, but she too was physically removed from her office in the early days of the Trump administration.
Was Neuralink stolen?
The idea for Neuralink is alleged to have been purchased from a student of Brazilian neuroscientist and Duke University professor Dr. Miguel Nicolelis. According to Nicolesis, Musk is copying the results he achieved over two decades ago, but he is doing it in a far more dangerous and unrefined way. The vast majority of paralysis cases can be solved with noninvasive devices, so Dr. Nicolelis consider's the Neuralink project to be built upon sci-fi fandom and hype. An internal brain implant is provocative and compelling when seen in this light, but in actual execution, according to Nicolelis, it displays a lack of focus on patient well-being.
In the meantime several promising companies have developed tools with similar capacities that are far less invasive. Here is our list of favorite tools in the competitive landscape. These tools are preferable for their noninvasive approach and for their regard for the norms of patient safety. They aren't as fast or immediate as brain implants, such as the ones developed by Neuralink, Blackrock Neurotech, Paradromics, and Synchron. However, there are far less risks of human harm in the development of them:
1) Kernel collects brain signal data non-invasively
2) Cognixion for non-invasive solutions for accessibility and communication.
3) Neurovalens: uses external stimulation of vestibular nerves
4) Butterfly Network and Forest Neurotech in partnership are developing ultrasound-based brain imagining and stimulation.
