Published13 minutes agoShareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingImage source, ReutersBy James FitzGeraldBBC NewsElon Musk’s brain-chip firm says it has received approval from the US Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) to conduct its first tests on humans. The billionaire’s Neuralink implant company wants to help restore people’s vision and mobility by connecting brains with computers.It says it does not have immediate plans to start recruiting participants. Mr Musk’s previous ambitions to begin tests came to nothing.The regulator itself is yet to comment.An earlier bid by Neuralink to win FDA approval was rejected on safety grounds, according to a report in March by the Reuters news agency that cited multiple current and former employees. What is Neuralink?Neuralink hopes to use its microchips to treat conditions such as paralysis and blindness, and to help certain disabled people use computers and mobile technology.The chips – which have been tested in monkeys – are designed to interpret signals produced in the brain and relay information to devices via Bluetooth. Mr Musk has also previously suggested that the proposed technology could help ease concerns about humans being displaced by AI.Announcing Thursday’s news on Twitter, Neuralink talked of an “important first step that will one day allow our technology to help many people”.The approval was “the result of incredible work by the Neuralink team in close collaboration with the FDA”, it said.The firm promised more information “soon” on plans to sign up trial participants.Its website promises that “safety, accessibility and reliability” are all priorities during its engineering process.Experts have cautioned that Neuralink’s brain implants will require extensive testing to overcome technical and ethical challenges if they are to become widely available.The company – which was co-founded by Mr Musk in 2016 – has repeatedly overestimated the speed at which it can execute its plans.Its initial aim was to start planting chips in human brains in 2020, in order to honour a pledge made the year before. It later vowed to get started in 2022.The business was dealt another setback in December last year, after reportedly coming under investigation for alleged animal welfare violations in its work. It earlier denied similar claims.Its announcement on FDA approval for human tests follows recent news of a similar breakthrough involving brain implants by Swiss researchers.A paralysed man from the Netherlands was able to walk simply by thinking about it – thanks to a system of implants which wirelessly transmit his thoughts to his legs and feet.This video can not be playedTo play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.More on this storyMicrochips are to be tested in human brainsPublished25 January 2022Elon Musk reveals brain-hacking plansPublished17 July 2019Brain implants help paralysed man to walk againPublished1 day ago

Published3 hours agoShareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingImage source, ReutersBy James FitzGeraldBBC NewsBrazil has declared a six-month animal health emergency after several cases of avian flu were found in wild birds.Seven cases have been reported in Espirito Santo state, with another discovered in Rio de Janeiro state.The emergency declaration makes it easier for the government to now bring in measures to stop the highly infectious H5N1 virus from spreading.Brazil is the world’s largest exporter of chicken meat, with annual sales of nearly $10bn (£8bn). Authorities say the cases were found far away from Brazil’s main areas of production in the south of the country. However, outbreaks in commercial flocks elsewhere have sometimes been observed to follow the discovery of avian flu cases in wild birds.The finding of a case on a farm often triggers a cull of a large number of birds – and can sometimes prompt trade restrictions from other countries.The health emergency has been declared across the whole country for the next 180 days as a precaution.The world has been going through its worst ever outbreak of bird flu since October 2021, causing the deaths of more wild birds than ever before. Some mammals are also catching the disease.Scientists remain unsure why this outbreak is proving so much worse than others, but the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) has reported “devastating impacts on animal health and welfare”.The World Health Organization (WHO) says the further spread of the H5N1 virus will have to be monitored closely to see whether it is mutating into a form which can spread amongst humans.Cases that do occur are the result of people coming into close contact with infected birds.More on this storyWhat is bird flu and what’s behind the outbreak?Published17 April