Editorial: Nanomedicine: real commercial potential or just hype? ||FREE PAPER||

Thomas J Webster

Divisions of Engineering and Orthopedics, Brown University, Providence, RI, USA

What is the real commercial potential for nanotechnology and, in particular, nanomedicine? Depends on your definition. For example, if you think nanomedicine refers to Michael Crichton’s self-replicating nanorobots traversing the body and healing disease (as in his 2002 novel Prey), I bet you will be waiting a long time (if ever) to see commercial fruition. On the other hand, if you envision nanomedicine as listening to meditation music from your iPod nano (and, thus, healing your soul), then you are in luck as you are already experiencing commercial benefits of nanomedicine. If only you had bought the stock.