Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1515242
13 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 31 JANUARY 2024 COMMERCIAL ELON Musk has announced the first human patient to re- ceive a brain chip from his company Neuralink is recover- ing well. The billionaire also revealed he hoped the product - called 'Telepathy' - will eventually al- low users with disabilities like Stephen Hawking to "commu- nicate faster than an auction- eer". "Initial results show promis- ing neuron spike detection," Mr Musk said in a post on the social media platform X on Monday. Spikes are activity by neu- rons, which the National In- stitute of Health describes as cells that use electrical and chemical signals to send infor- mation around the brain and to the body. Musk said it will "'enable con- trol of your phone or comput- er, and through them almost any device, just by thinking". The US Food and Drug Ad- ministration gave the company clearance last year to conduct its first trial to test its implant on humans, a critical mile- stone in the start-up's hopes to help patients overcome paral- ysis and a host of neurological conditions. In September, Neuralink said it received approval for re- cruitment for the human trial. The study uses a robot to sur- gically place a brain-computer interface (BCI) implant in a re- gion of the brain that controls the intention to move. The company says its ini- tial goal is to enable people to control a computer cursor or keyboard using their thoughts alone. The implants' "ultra-fine" threads help transmit signals in participants' brains, Neural- ink says. The start-up's PRIME Study is a trial for its wireless brain-computer interface to evaluate the safety of the im- plant and surgical robot. The company has faced calls for scrutiny regarding its safety protocols. Earlier this month the com- pany was fined for violating US Department of Transpor- tation (DOT) rules regarding the movement of hazardous materials. The company was valued at about $5bn (£3.9bn) last June, but four politicians in late November asked the US Se- curities and Exchange Com- mission to investigate wheth- er Musk had misled investors about the safety of its technol- ogy after veterinary records showed problems with the implants on monkeys included paralysis, seizures and brain swelling. Musk wrote in a social me- dia post in September that "no monkey has died as a result of a Neuralink implant". He added that the company chose "terminal" monkeys to minimize risk to healthy ones. Elon Musk's Neuralink company implants brain chip in first human Elon Musk (top) announced that the first human patient has received an implant from brain-chip startup Neuralink THE head of Hamas has confirmed the group has received a proposal for a potential hostage deal with Israel, saying it will study it and that it is "open" for serious discussions on the matter. Ismail Haniyeh said "the [Hamas] movement re- ceived the proposal that was circulated at the [Paris] meeting and it is in the pro- cess of studying it and sub- mitting its response to it on the basis that the priority is to stop the aggression". He said, however, that any deal would require a com- plete and permanent cease- fire. "The movement is open to discussing any serious and practical initiatives or ideas, provided that they lead to a comprehensive cessation of aggression... lifting the siege, and achieving a seri- ous prisoner exchange," the statement said. It has also been confirmed senior Hamas leaders have been invited to Egypt for talks on the deal. The Paris plan Yesterday saw negotiators from Israel, the US, Egypt and Qatar agree on a plan to release the remaining Amer- ican and Israeli hostages in Gaza. The deal, as agreed in the French capital of Paris, would see the release of hos- tages in phases, accompanied by pauses in fighting and aid deliveries to Gaza, according to sources close to the deal. Palestinian prisoners held by Israel would likely be re- leased in exchange. Hamas 'open to discussions' on hostage deal proposal Ismail Haniyeh speaking in 2017