Careers in Nanobiotechnology: *Feature Index*

Loosely defined, nanobiotechnology is the place at which nanoscale analytical techniques intersect with chemical, physical, and biological approaches toward understanding molecules and surfaces. As nanobiotech is an emerging nexus within the larger revolution in research, innovation, and funding for nanotechnology, Next Wave felt that it was time to focus our career transition lenses through the objectives of some really nifty machines ... machines like atomic force and scanning-tunneling microscopes that nanobiotechnologists are using to analyze and manipulate biological molecules and surfaces at infinitesimal scales.

We begin by explaining in a little more depth the science of nanobiotech and the particular challenges faced by scientists working on "soft" surfaces like proteins, nucleic acids, and cellular membranes. Having defined the field, we shift the focus to explore where the jobs are opening up in nanobiotech around the world and the kinds of training and opportunities that are available to budding nanobiotechies. We conclude with a detailed analysis of the nanobiotech funding situation in the U.S. and an extensive collection of nano-, bio-, and nanobiotech links, compiled by Next Wave staff in Europe and North America.

John Luong of Canada's National Research Council (NRC) puts the "bio" in nanotechnology with an introductory article that outlines some of the areas in which biological expertise is being married with electronics, physics, chemistry, and computing to define the nascent field of nanobiotech.

And in an interview with Next Wave Canada, Lila Kari shares her thoughts on biocomputing and its applications in the nanobiotechnology arena.

Moving across the Atlantic, Sarah Tilley provides a synopsis of the latest nanobiotech advances, compiled from talks given at last year's British Association Festival.

And the University of Alberta's Jack Tuszynski, currently a research manager at the Brussels-based high-tech incubator Starlab, explores in detail the possibility that DNA and proteins might soon form the core of "evolvable" computers.

In interviews with nanobiotechnologists in government, academia, and industry, Kirstie Urquhart and Crispin Taylor delve into the current job market and training opportunities in the UK and the U.S. And in Canada, three scientists from the NRC provide their perspectives on the scope of nanobiotech opportunities in Canada.