Nanotech: buy in while it still sounds like sci-fi

Investing in Nanotechnology: Nanotech buy in while it still sounds sci fi - at Moneyweek.co.uk - the best of the week's international financial media.

Several of today's hottest stocks are so tiny they have barely been registered by investors, says Gregory Zuckermann in The Wall Street Journal. But it is time that they - and their industry - were. Shares in companies such as Nanogen, Nanophase Technology and Veeco Instruments, all of which are involved in the emerging science of nanotechnology, have "doubled, tripled or more" in the last 12 months.

In simple terms, says Brian O'Connell on Streetinsider.com, nanotechnology is the business of manufacturing products from components smaller than 100 nanometres (the smallest size object that can be seen under a light microscope). The idea is that these can be used "to build smaller, stronger, tougher, and lighter products than ever before". Imagine tiny robots assembling products atom by atom, says Eurobusiness, miniature submarines travelling through your arteries, "clearing away cholesterol deposits and repairing nerve endings", or your grass being trimmed by a "fleet of flying nano-insects". Think of it as you would molecular biology. Depending on how you assemble a limited number of "building blocks" (in this case proteins and DNA), you could in theory create anything from a worm to a person. In nanotech, the blocks are nanowires, nanotubes and nanoparticles. With these, you could create a computer, say, or a biological sensor.

Subscribe to MoneyWeek

Subscribe to MoneyWeek today and get your first six magazine issues absolutely FREE

Get 6 issues free
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/mw70aro6gl1676370748.jpg

Sign up to Money Morning

Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter

Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter

Sign up
MoneyWeek

MoneyWeek is written by a team of experienced and award-winning journalists, plus expert columnists. As well as daily digital news and features, MoneyWeek also publishes a weekly magazine, covering investing and personal finance. From share tips, pensions, gold to practical investment tips - we provide a round-up to help you make money and keep it.