Pigeons get brain implants

So humans can program their flights.

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Hi, it's Ike in Boston. A Russian company is putting brain implants in birds to make them do people's bidding. Before I explain ... Today's must-reads GSK says it's won FDA approval for its twice-a-year asthma drug. Nicotine pouch use is growing in Britain. US high school football teams are embracing special helmets to help prevent concussions. Remote-controlled birds Humans have long trained pigeons to race, carry messages and even spy behind enemy lines. What would happen if people could bypass the training and steer their bird brains instead? One firm is doing this. Its pigeon has a wire coming off its head and a brain implant. When the bird flies, a human can change its movement via electrical signals. Enter "bio-drones," animal cyborgs created by the Russian startup Neiry Group. Neurotechnology experts say they don't know of any other companies trying to commercialize similar technology. Why birds? Neiry Chief Executive Officer Alex Panov explains that they can maneuver in complicated environments, fly for a long time, and operate in places where drones are restricted, offering potential advantages over their mechanical counterparts. The company says the pigeons, equipped with video cameras, could be used to inspect infrastructure or the environment and support search-and-rescue operations. They could also be used to conduct surveillance, Panov adds. Researchers have been experimenting with devices like this in birds and other animals for years. During the Cold War, the CIA implanted electrodes in the brains of six dogs to try to control their behavior. Brain implant technology has advanced rapidly in recent years, and several companies are developing chips for humans to treat debilitating neurological diseases and upgrade peoples' cognitive capabilities. "Our long-term goal is to create the next human species after Homo sapiens — Homo superior," Panov says. In the meantime, its cyborg pigeons have attracted interest from potential clients in Russia, Dubai and India. Panov says one of them is interested in monitoring power lines. He says that Neiry has no plans to use the pigeons for military purposes. The company has raised about $50 million so far, and all of the investors are Russian, he says. One of them is the National Technology Initiative Foundation, according to a company spokesperson. That organization is associated with the Russian government. And Russia has been adding to its drone capabilities in its war on Ukraine, which makes extensive use of the machines in defending against the invasion. James Giordano, professor emeritus of neurology at Georgetown University, who consults with the Pentagon on science and technology, imagines there could be military uses of brain-implant birds. Someone is more likely to notice a metal drone flying overhead than one more pigeon flapping around, making a bird-drone more suited for covert surveillance, he says. And a bird could be infected with a disease and sent into enemy territory. Giordano says he's not suggesting ill intent on Neiry's part, nor do his views represent those of the US government. To be sure, there are any number of reasons why mechanical drones might be preferable to pigeons: they're easier to control, can carry bigger loads and don't need to eat or poop. And that's without even considering the ethical implications of forcibly altering an animal's behavior via brain implants. "Any time we're using neural implants to try to control and puppeteer any species, it feels icky," says Nita Farahany, a bioethicist and law professor at Duke University. While experimenting with animals to improve human health can be ethically permissible, we shouldn't "subjugate them and deploy them as if they're products rather than living creatures," she says. Panov says that the company's in-house bioethicists have found no issues. While implants do "partially limit agency," he says, this is not more than other situations that are considered normal, like riding a horse or milking a cow. Neiry's Chief Scientific Officer Mikhail Lebedev explains that the pigeon technology electrically stimulates the bird's brain in the area associated with movement. Operators can direct the birds either like remote-controlled drones or by uploading flight paths for them to follow. While Panov says no scientific papers have been published detailing how this works, one video provided by the company appears to show a bird flying to the left or right or in a corkscrew based on different commands. The company isn't limiting itself to birds. Panov says Neiry is partnering with a firm called NeuroFarming to sell devices that stimulate a cows' brains so they produce more milk. Between 30 and 50 cows have gotten the devices so far, Panov says, and the company plans to sharply increase those numbers by 2026. Some of the cow farms are in Russia, and others are outside, but Panov declined to say where. — Ike Swetlitz What we're reading Wealthy foreigners who come to the US for transplants are getting organs faster than US patients, the New York Times reports. Dana-Farber Cancer Institute will pay $15 million to settle fraud charges, including the use of inaccurate or altered research data, the Wall Street Journal reports. Hundreds of dead snow geese found in Pennsylvania may have had bird flu, CBS News reports. Contact Prognosis Health questions? Have a tip that we should investigate? Contact us at AskPrognosis@bloomberg.net. Follow us You received this message because you are subscribed to Bloomberg's Prognosis newsletter. 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