Elon Musk’s Neuralink Corp. used a brain implant to enable a monkey to see something that wasn’t physically there, according to an engineer, as it moves toward its goal of helping blind people see.

The device, called Blindsight, stimulated areas of a monkey’s brain associated with vision, Neuralink engineer Joseph O’Doherty said Friday at a conference. At least two-thirds of the time, the monkey moved its eyes toward something researchers were trying to trick the brain into visualizing.

The results were the first Neuralink has publicized about tests of Blindsight, a brain chip that mimics the function of an eye. This is a closely watched frontier for brain device development, a scientific field that’s testing the boundaries of how technology can be used to potentially treat intractable conditions.

As with all animal studies, it’s an open question how the results would apply to humans. The device isn’t approved for human use in the US.

The short-term goal of Blindsight is to help people see, and the long-term goal is to facilitate superhuman vision — like in infrared — Musk has said. The company has been testing Blindsight in monkeys for the past few years and is hoping to test it in a human this year, the billionaire said in March.

On the sidelines of the conference, O’Doherty declined to comment further about Neuralink’s work.

Neuralink is also implanting devices in people who are paralyzed that allow them to communicate directly with computers, one of several companies in the growing technological field.

Five people have received Neuralink implants so far, Musk has said. Three were implanted in 2024 and two in 2025, according to O’Doherty’s presentation at the Neural Interfaces conference. In some cases, patients are using their Neuralink device for about 60 hours a week.

In the future, brain devices using similar technology could allow paralyzed people to move or walk, Musk has said. O’Doherty co-authored a poster with academic researchers, which was presented at the conference, describing an experiment that used the Neuralink implant to stimulate the spinal cord of a monkey, causing its muscles to move. Other researchers have been working on spinal cord stimulation to restore muscle movement for several years.

Musk’s medical aspirations are a stepping stone toward the goal of increasing the speed of human communication for everyone, allowing people to “mitigate the risk of digital super-intelligence,” Musk said in 2024. He’s also building artificial intelligence through his company xAI Corp.

Eventually, the company wants the Blindsight system to include a pair of glasses to help make the chip work, O’Doherty said in his talk.

Testing in monkeys has advantages. The visual cortex in a monkey is closer to the surface of the brain than in a human, making it easier to access, O’Doherty said in the presentation. Neuralink could use its surgical robot to insert its implant into the deeper regions in a person’s brain, he added.

© 2025 Bloomberg L.P.

SpaceX just aced another launch of its Starlink internet satellites. On Thursday night (June 12), the company launched 26 new Starlink spacecraft to join its ever-growing internet megaconstellation in orbit. Flying from Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) at California’s Vandenberg Space Force Base, the launch occurred at 9:54 p.m. EDT (6:54 p.m. PDT or 0154 GMT) on June 13. The satellites are planned to be deployed into orbit from the second stage about one hour and one minute after liftoff. This accomplishment brings to more than 7,600 the number of active satellites for SpaceX’s Starlink.

SpaceX’s 15th Falcon 9 Reuse Powers 72nd Launch as Starlink Nears 7,600 Satellites

As per SpaceX’s official update for its 15-6 mission, the rocket’s first-stage booster, known as B1081, flew for the 15th time after 14 prior flights. It successfully touched down on the droneship Of Course I Still Love You in the Pacific Ocean, off the coast of southern California, yet again. The company’s current record for reflight of Falcon 9 boosters is 28 flights, proving itself at the same time to be the best at orbital launch efficiency.

Thursday’s mission marks the 72nd Falcon 9 launch, with 53 of those dedicated to the Starlink network. The system aims to provide high-speed internet access around the world, and an increasing number of satellites provide direct-to-cell services for texting and a limited data connection on certain kinds of smartphones and through certain carriers.

Elon Musk’s SpaceX continues to add satellites to the Starlink constellation to increase redundancy and coverage, particularly in remote areas. The current constellation has wide coverage of the Earth, allowing small satellite dishes and mobile phones to connect to the internet in real time in dozens of countries.

SpaceX is simultaneously expanding the reach of Starlink and laying the groundwork for next-generation applications like in-flight connectivity and emergency response communications. With more than 7,600 satellites now orbiting Earth and as many as dozens of additional launches on the docket, Starlink is rapidly redefining how global internet coverage can work in the modern era.

A rare display in the night sky could be visible to skywatchers in the U.S., as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has issued a geomagnetic storm watch for the night of June 14. The moderate G2-level event, fuelled by disturbances in solar wind, might produce auroras visible as far south as New York and Idaho, providing a spectacular light show far beyond the usual polar zones. While it’s welcome news for aurora enthusiasts, experts caution that extended daylight hours due to the approaching summer solstice could limit ideal viewing windows.

Coronal Hole Sparks Geomagnetic Storm; Auroras May Glow as Far South as New York June 14

As per the statement from NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Centre (SWPC), this increase in geomagnetic activity is associated to a greater degree with a co-rotating interaction region (CIR), a turbulent region where high-speed streams of solar wind collide with slower-moving wind. While these CIRs may not be as dramatic as CMEs, they can still lead to shock waves that rattle the Earth’s magnetic field. The latest CIR was formed around a large coronal hole – a particularly dark region in the Sun’s outermost atmosphere – that is currently facing Earth and spewing high-speed solar wind directly into space.

Coronal holes are allowed to expand and develop into space weather due to reduced density and lower temperature solar wind pressing outward. Forecasts suggest a Kp index of 5.67 on 14 June, so there is another chance for auroras at lower latitudes.

To catch the northern lights, search for dark, clear skies in the hours before dawn, and check in with NOAA’s 3-day space weather forecast, as well as real-time resources like the “My Aurora Forecast & Alerts” app.

The aurora is weather and atmospheric conditions permitting, and should be visible for those based outside of the Arctic Circle viewing it during an approaching storm.