Medicine

One potential area where nanotechnology could prove extremely beneficial is in medicine.  All biological processes happen at the cellular or molecular level.  This is roughly the same scale as nanotechnology.  Though most research in this mixed field between nano and biotechnology is still preliminary, it's obvious that at some point we will be able to put things into the body for better or for worse.

At the simpler end of things, nanotechnology can be used to inject nanoscale objects into the bloodstream.  This could include a variety of things like drug delivery through buckyballs, the infamous 'nanorobots' of science fiction lore, or simple quantum dot tags for medical imaging contrast.

Some of the more complex research is going into protein engineering and biomaterials.  These involve a full understanding of many biological mysteries within the body.  As research continues and our picture becomes more complete, this newer wave of nanotechnology will help revolutionize medicine, as we know it.

Compared to electronics, medical nanotechnology isn't well understood or as well funded.  We'll cover only the most basic research going on in the field right now.