Brain implant receives FDA approval

May 26, 2023 Updated Fri., May 26, 2023 at 9:34 p.m.

Neuralink, Elon Musk’s brain implant company, said it received approval from the Food and Drug Administration to conduct human clinical trials.

Neuralink did not respond to a request for comment. The FDA acknowledged the company’s announcement.

Musk’s start-up is developing a small device that will link the brain to a computer, consisting of electrode-laced wires. Placing the device requires drilling into the skull.

The approval “is really a big deal,” said Cristin Welle, a former FDA official and an associate professor of neurosurgery and physiology at the University of Colorado.

Founded in 2016, Neuralink attracted some top neuroscientists to work on its brain implant, although many have since moved on to other companies or academia.

ConocoPhillips buys oil-sands

ConocoPhillips exercised its right to acquire TotalEnergies’ 50% stake in the Surmont oil-sands field for as much as $3.33 billion, giving it full control of the Canadian operation and thwarting efforts by Suncor Energy to buy into the site.

The purchase includes a $3 billion price tag and as much as $325 million in contingent payments, Houston-based ConocoPhillips said Friday.

The transaction is expected to close in the second half of the year and will be funded with cash and short- and medium-term financing or a combination of those options.

Taking full control of Surmont’s low-cost production helps ConocoPhillips Chief Executive Officer Ryan Lance meet a commitment to return $11 billion in cash to shareholders this year by letting the company generate free cash flow at even lower crude prices.

ConocoPhillips projected the purchase would add about $600 million of annual free cash flow next year, assuming a benchmark U.S. oil price of $60 a barrel.

From wire reports

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