Microchip in the human brain now a reality, FDA paves the way for Elon Musk's company

A few months ago, the United States Food and Drug Administration gave Neuralink, the microchip technology startup founded by Elon Musk in 2016, permission to test its devices on humans. 

Earlier last September, the FDA had rejected Neuralink's application for human trials due to safety concerns, such as fears that the chip's wires could move around a person's skull or the device could overheat.

Not long ago, the "excited" company announced that it is starting to implant microchips in human brains for clinical studies, looking for people with paralysis in all four limbs due to spinal cord injury or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. 

Neuralink's chip is an implant that goes inside the skull. It is equipped with 1024 electrodes and can receive signals from many neurons.

According to Bloomberg and Business Insider, thousands of people have already expressed interest in receiving an implant of the Neuralink chip, which Musk described as "a smartwatch in your skull." 

Ashley Vance, one of Musk's biographers who has visited Neuralink's facilities about 10 times in 3 years, reports that the company has yet to implant its chips in people.