- Elon Musk claimed to have successfully put a Neuralink implant into a human for the first time this week
- DailyMail.com can reveal that test monkeys had grueling operations on their skulls up to 10 times each before being put down during the testing phase
- Neuralink has killed at least 1,500 animals including sheep and pigs during its quest for a chip which will allow people to control devices with their minds
The horrific animal testing performed to bring Elon Musk’s Neuralink project to life includes drilling holes into monkeys’ heads and filling them in with glue, DailyMail.com can reveal.
In the week Musk claimed to have put a Neuralink implant into a human for the first time, documents show that the company used ‘Bioglue’ to patch up holes in the monkeys’ heads after operations.
The documents released from the University of Davis, California, which partnered with Neuralink in tests for three years from 2017 to 2020, show that monkeys had operations on their skulls up to 10 times each before being put down.
Surgeons drilled into their heads and implants were attached to their brains but they did not fit properly – meaning they protruded outside, the dossier reveals.
Death reports reveal that monkeys had parts of their limbs amputated and were put down after repeatedly vomiting and having episodes of diarrhea.
All told, Neuralink has killed at least 1,500 animals including sheep and pigs during its quest for a chip which will allow people to control electronic devices with their minds.
The documents were obtained by the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, a campaign group, which said that the monkeys endured ‘extreme suffering’ during a ‘systematic disregard’ for their lives.
PCRM said that the public should be skeptical about claims by Musk, the Tesla and SpaceX founder, who bragged this week: ‘Imagine if Stephen Hawking could communicate faster than a speed typist or auctioneer. That is the goal.’
Last month he said Neuralink was looking at quadriplegics under 40 years old to take part in human trials, where a surgeon would remove part of their skull before a robot implanted 64 threads lined with electrodes on the brain.
In a statement to DailyMail.com, PCRM said that Musk had a ‘long track record of misleading the public about Neuralink’s supposed developments.’
The statement said: ‘Neuralink has a well-documented history of conducting unnecessary, sloppy experiments in monkeys, pigs, sheep, and other animals that raise serious concerns about the safety of its device.
‘As such, the public should continue to be skeptical of the safety and functionality of any device produced by Neuralink’.
The statement added that ‘Musk’s true intentions for Neuralink are disturbingly clear.’
It said: ‘He has repeatedly said the goal of the company is ”to achieve a symbiosis with artificial intelligence” which is not necessarily in line with developing treatments for patients.’
Neuralink partnered with UC Davis from 2017 to 2020 after which it brought its research program in-house with facilities in California and Austin, Texas, where it is based.
The 1,500 animals that have been killed reportedly include more than 280 sheep, pigs and monkeys.
While Musk reportedly said that he wanted test monkeys to live in a ‘monkey Taj Mahal’, photos obtained by DailyMail.com of the UC Davis lab paint a far starker reality with small metal cages stacked on top of one another.
The documents include the contracts between Neuralink and UC Davis which stated that the university would be paid $796,006 for the first round of testing from July 2017 to July 2018.
In chilling detail, one bill stated the expenses included $11,870.40 on purchasing three animals and $14,349.12 on the surgery.
In the comments section UC Davis remarked that there would be ’16 hour terminal surgery’ and that the necropsy will require ‘evening / OT charges’, apparently meaning overtime charges for staff.
The document was signed by Ahmad Hakim-Elahi, the executive director of the research administration at UC Davis.
Among the others who are named in the documents is Dr. John Morrison, a professor of neurology.
The total amount that Neuralink paid appears to be well above $1million.
An email dated January 26, 2021 from AnnMarie Boyland, the director of administration and operations at UC Davis, states that the college had a ‘max agreement’ with Neuralink of $1,296,006.
However there were additional invoices: one for $487,207 and a subsequent one for $186,034, making a total of $1,969,247.
According to the files, the monkeys tested at UC Davis were split into four groups, the first of which ‘will not be allowed to surgically recover (terminal procedure)’.
‘The overarching goal will be to behaviorally program implanted animals and test take performance outputs in preconditioned monkeys’, the file states.
The animals would be prepared for surgery by being given drugs like valium and fentanyl and anesthetics, after which an incision up to 10cm long will be made on their scalps.
The guidelines admit that the fit for each implant ‘may not be perfect’ and that bone screws would be used to anchor it in place.
Among the tests that were conducted were behavioral training which mapped neural activity to what the monkey was doing.
The animals would reach to specific locations with their hands or do short term memory exercises which would be reinforced using treats, which are described as a ‘slurry of blended monkey biscuits’ or other treats.
A protocol for ‘animal use and care’ which expired in July 2021 stated that the animals may be forced to sit in a ‘chair’ – which is defined as a ‘plastic box- which forces them to sit in an upright position.
The document notes that if the animal won’t put its head through the neck plate of the box chair they wanted the option to sedate the creature and it be given a collar to keep it in position.
In a disturbing passage, the document states: ‘Animals will be chair restrained for a maximum of five hours over the course of a single day. They may be chair restrained multiple times in a single day. Chair restraint may be performed every day, including weekends’.
A request to amend the regular protocol from July 2019 noted that the implant was approximately the size of a quarter coin, or 22.5mm in diameter.
It would be anchored to the monkey’s skull using ‘bone screws, dental acrylic and/or other approved materials.’
The request states: ‘The device is designed to sit flush within the bone of a typical human skull so we expect it to protrude slightly when implanted into the macaque skull.
‘Option to cover with acrylic: As our goal is a fully subcutaneous implant, we intend to use skin closure over the implant. However, it may not be possible to close the skin over the device without unacceptable tenting and/or risk of skin erosion, and we may, as a last resort, form a percutaneous acrylic implant over the device using approved materials and method’.
A note from the same month addressed the issue of using Bioglue on one monkey.
It stated: ‘At the time of skin closing the lead surgeon had concerns about the void in between the two implants and applied Bioglue to fill the dead space in between the implants on midline.
‘According to protocol, Bioglue and bacitracin were not listed for approved use. The protocol is a composite of a previous withdrawn protocol and miscellaneous amendments. One past amendment addressed the adverse effect of Bioglue coming in contact with an animal subject’s brain surface.
‘The preventative action arising from this event was to discontinue the use of Bioglue’.
The document notes that the lead surgeon ‘did not realize’ that they could not use Bioglue and that staff were being retrained to not use it in the future.
Under ‘potential adverse effects, a March 2021 email reads that the bone screws will lead to a ‘number of holes in the cranium’ of the monkeys.
The needle used by the robot which was used to insert threads into the implant ‘could break and leave shards in the brain’, the document notes.
Perhaps the most disturbing documents of all are the death reports for each monkey.
One monkey known as ‘Animal 8’ had ‘multiple digit tips amputated’ and had ‘diarrhea in the first year of life’, the notes state.
In addition, the creature underwent a vasectomy.
A report states that a ‘burr hole’ was made in its head until the brain was exposed, the implant was put in and tested then the creature was euthanized.
‘Animal 4’, an 11-year-old macaque monkey, was on antidepressants before being put down in July 2018.
UC Davis observed the animal ‘hunching’ and looking ‘lethargic’.
Staff expected the monkey to live less than one month after one procedure, however it lived another seven months.
Another monkey, known as ‘Animal 5’ was observed having ‘patchy alopecia’ and significant hair loss.
A worse fate awaited a monkey called ‘Animal 6’ which underwent a highly invasive procedure in October 2018 in which staff drilled holes in its skull and put electrodes on the creature’s brain.
Two months later the area around the implant became infected meaning lab staff had to use ‘copious amounts’ of antibiotics to clean it.
Other monkeys were seen to engage in self mutilating behavior or had multiple seizures.
The dossier is far from the first time that Neuralink has come under fire for its treatment of test animals.
In December 2022, Reuters reported that the company was under investigation by the USDA and the Department of Justice for animal welfare violations.
That month members of Congress wrote to the USDA to raise concerns about animal welfare at Neuralink.
Additional records obtained by PCRM in February last year that UC Davis may have breached federal law by transporting infectious pathogens without safely packaging them.
This month it emerged that the Department of Transport fined Neuralink for breaches of federal hazardous materials laws in relation to the claims made by PCRM.
Neuralink was also in the headlines when it emerged that Musk had fathered two children with Shivon Zilis, an executive with the company.
DailyMail.com has contacted UC Davis and Neuralink for comment.
Neuralink has previously said that it is ‘absolutely committed to working with animals in the most humane and ethical way possible’.
UC Davis has said that it ‘follows all applicable laws and regulations’.
The college has refused to release 371 photographs of the monkeys it experimented on for Neuralink.
Robert Johnson is a UK-based business writer specializing in finance and entrepreneurship. With an eye for market trends and a keen interest in the corporate world, he offers readers valuable insights into business developments.
