The Emerging Neurobioeconomy: Implications for National Security.

Neuroscience and neurotechnology (neuroS/T) are techniques and tools used to assess or affect the nervous system. Current and near-future developments are enabling an expanding palette of capabilities to understand and influence brain functions that can foster wellbeing and economic growth. This "neurobioeconomy" is rapidly growing, attributable in large part to the global dissemination of knowledge that fosters and contributes to scientific innovation, invention, and commercialization. As a result, several countries have initiated programs in brain research and innovation. Not all brain sciences engender security concerns, but a predominance in global biomedical, bioengineering, wellness/lifestyle, and defense markets enables considerable power. Such power can be leveraged in nonkinetic or kinetic domains, and several countries have identified neuroS/T as viable and of growing value for use in warfare, intelligence, and national security operations. In addition to the current focus on biotechnology, the United States and its allies must acknowledge the significance of brain science and its projected impact on the economy, national security, and lifestyles. In this article, we examine growth of the neuroS/T market, discuss how the neurobioeconomy poses distinct ethical and security issues for the broader bioeconomy, provide examples of such issues that arise from specific nation-state activity and technological commercialization, and propose a risk assessment and mitigation approach that can be engaged by the economic, scientific, and security communities.

Aversive conditioning in the tardigrade, Dactylobiotus dispar.

Defensive responses to threatening events in the environment are displayed by a vast number of animals, both vertebrate and invertebrate. These defensive responses can be associated with salient neutral stimuli that are present along with the threatening stimulus. This is referred to as aversive conditioning. Animals with more simple nervous systems, such as Aplysia, C elegans, and Drosophila, have facilitated identification of some the physiological processes that support aversive conditioning. Perhaps even more basic information regarding the neurobiology of learning and memory may be gleaned from animals that have special characteristics not found in other species. Tardigrades, also known as "water bears," are microscopic eight-legged animals that live in various aquatic and terrestrial environments. They are known for their resilience to extreme conditions because of their ability to enter a cryptobiotic "tun" state during which they turn off their metabolism. Thus, tardigrades present an ideal model to study the metabolic requirements for memory storage. However, there is no prior research on tardigrade learning and memory. The purpose of this study was to demonstrate aversive conditioning in a tardigrade species, Dactylobiotus dispar. Associative learning was confirmed by numerous control conditions (unconditioned stimulus [US] only, conditional stimulus [CS] only, backward pairing, random pairing). Short-term memories were formed after a single pairing of the CS and US. This research introduces an important new animal model to the study of the neurobiology of aversive conditioning with important ramifications for understanding the metabolic influences on learning and memory. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

The ALARA principle in the context of a radiological or nuclear emergency.

Traditionally, the concept of As Low As Reasonably Achievable (ALARA) has been applied to the workplace and to protect the public. The goals are to minimize small incremental exposures on a daily basis or per specific task, and on a yearly basis, thereby to keep the total annual dose equivalent as far below regulatory limits as practical. In an extreme emergency caused by radiological or nuclear terrorism, or a large scale radiological accident, it is proposed that the same principles can be applied to protect First Responders against potentially large exposures.