Posted on 08/26/2009 8:14:58 PM PDT by neverdem
Nanotechnology – the art and science of manipulating matter at the scale of 1 to 100 nanometers – is a field with seemingly limitless potential. But if researchers and politicians = are not careful, that potential will vanish. Nanotech firms have a choice between being entrepreneurs, or being corporate welfare recipients. They choices they make today could determine whether the future of nanotech is one of dynamism and innovation, or one of dull, bureaucratic stasis.
A nanotech boom is already underway. Just this week, the number of products that scientists have invented or improved passed the 1,000 mark. In two years, there could be 1,600. MIT nanotech researchers announced this month that they have discovered a way to kill ovarian cancer cells in mice. Treatments for other types of cancer may soon follow.
More mundane goods that have benefited from the nano touch range from drill bits to sun screen to tennis racquets. More than $250 billion worth of nanotech-enhanced goods are expected to be sold in 2009, up more than $100 billion from the year before. This is impressive growth, especially during a recession.
Innovation is what nanotechnology is all about – at least for now. Many firms are actively seeking, and getting, government funding and promotion. It’s easy to see why. Free money is hard to pass up. And about $1,500,000,000 of it will be doled out this year. More is sure to follow.
It sounds great at first. Given the potential returns nanotech research offers, putting public money into it seems like a great investment. From a humanitarian viewpoint, one could argue that the more money we spend on nanotech research, the more lives we could save. Nanotechnology may be on the verge of curing cancer, and it may help conquer other diseases in due time...
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonexaminer.com ...
Thanks for the link.
The second American Revolution is coming. Watch this video and you’d know why. Relax and enjoy!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0hFiab7fjak
... and Obama’s Healthcare ‘reform’ will guarantee that the technology will be underdeveloped & unaffordable. Ironic, isn’t it?
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