Nanotech for Economic Development 101

For a decade, biotechnology has been the industry most coveted by state and local economic development officials eager to get in on the ground floor of a burgeoning sector that holds the promise of million of dollars in revenues. According to experst, in the next decade, nanotechnology might rival biotechnology as that industry.

What is it? Nanotechnology refers to the ability to manipulate individual atoms and molecules, making it possible to build machines on the scale of human cells, or create materials and structures from the bottom up with novel properties.

Nanotechnology could change the way almost everything is designed and manufactured, from automobile tires to vaccines to objects not yet imagined.

How might it be applied? Applications of nanotechnology are likely to include:

- Information technologies such as quantum computing and computer chips that store trillions of bits of information on a device as small as the head of a pin.

- Medical advances, including improved drug and gene delivery, biocompatible materials for implants and sensors for disease detection.

If the biotechnology industry is in its infancy, then the nanotechnology industry is still embryonic in many ways. There is plenty of research and development in the pipeline but commercial applications are limited.

More here.