Bush approves boost for nanotech

WASHINGTON, Dec. 3, 2003 - President Bush signed a bill Wednesday to invest $3.7 billion for work in nanotechnology, the science of building electronic circuits and devices from single atoms and molecules.

The bill, which authorizes the money over four years, puts into law programs for research and development aimed at finding ways that nanotechnology can detect and treat disease, monitor the environment, and produce and store energy. The legislation is designed to help develop breakthroughs in nanotechnology that will lead to new products, new businesses, new jobs and new industries.

Nanotechnology is the ability to work at the atomic and molecular levels — at scales, for example, that are about one-100,000th the diameter of a human hair.

Academics, industry executives and Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham attended the Oval Office ceremony in which Bush signed the measure. The Senate passed the bill on Nov. 18; the House passed the Senate-amended version on Nov. 20.

Few things could be bigger than nanotechnology “in terms of its potential to revolutionize scientific and engineering research, improve human health and bolster our economy,” said the House sponsor, GOP Rep. Sherwood Boehlert of New York, chairman of the House Science Committee.

MORE FROM SCIENCE

Science Section Front

Cosmic Log: The bird vs. the Big Bang Machine Good news! NASA says world won’t end in 2012 Top 10 doomsday predictions that failed Friday the 13th: Your luck is about to change Humans still evolving as our brains shrink India to move all zoo elephants to wildlife parks Super-sniffing bees combat colony pest Power cut during heat wave shuts Australian zoo Record high temps are double the lows Chimps don't talk: Now experts may know why Science Section Front   Add Science headlines to your news reader: