Daily News chosen by Anchor Science

Although a writer from the Cato Institute told Baltimore Sun readers that "giving academia more public bucks is not the path to economic success" ("Higher-ed spending not the answer," Commentary, Dec. 17), this claim belies the preponderance of economic research and Maryland's experience.
Studies repeatedly show that public research universities are engines for economic development and magnets for talent and jobs. A recent study by the Sage Policy Group estimated that the University of Maryland, College Park - the state's flagship university - returns roughly six dollars in economic benefits for every state dollar invested.
Public universities are especially vital to Maryland, a state heavily dependent on its knowledge-based economy. And as the federal government prepares to increase its investments in research, shouldn't Maryland stay as competitive as possible in technological fields?
The University of Maryland has deep research relationships with the National Institute of Standards and Technology, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, NASA, Department of Defense and Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development. We are also intensely involved in pioneering climate change research and other high-level research in fields ranging from energy to nanotechnology, robotics, biotechnology, linguistics, computer science, language acquisition and national security.
Much of the nation's fundamental research begins at universities before the work moves to the private sector. For instance, UM biologists' discovered a bacterium that helps produce ethanol from non-food sources. Through UM's technology incubator, the scientists formed a company that now produces ethanol commercially.
Education and research secure our future.
Investing in higher education is wise, not a waste.Nariman FarvardinCollege Park
The writer is the provost at the University of Maryland, College Park.

Happy new year, tech heads. Pessimists say the credit crunch may put the brakes on technology in 2009, but a quick scout around the web shows that gadget-lovers may have loads to look forward to.
Mobile phone addicts should not read further, as the best innovations may revolutionise the way we use our phones.
UAE telephony giant etisalat recently let slip that it was poised to release technology that allows shoppers to use their mobiles to scan barcodes and download product information from the web.
So at the supermarket, you could simply wave your phone over a tomato and track its origin to the farm it came from.
Seriously, though, who wants to spend more time in the supermarket?
Other developments are more exciting. Now everyone can be a spook with Samsung's Innov8 product that allows users to take a picture of a building and download an exact location of its whereabouts using GPS sat nav.
This is terrific if you're lost in the back streets of Santiago. It could, however, add a new dimension to forwarding those spur-of-the-moment holiday snaps.
Google has announced plans to launch its own Android-powered mobiles this year, to compete head-on with mobile software platforms including Apple's OS X operating system on the iPhone.
It will include a host of free features that OS X users currently pay for. In response, iPhone is rumoured to be releasing an iPhone Nano, made from new materials created by nanotechnology.
Nanotechnology – which uses nanoparticles to create new materials – is where all the big future action is. As sites such as www.tuvie.com show, Nokia's nanotechnology concept phone, Morph, is a stretchable phone that can be transformed into different shapes, such as a bracelet.
Other concept products include a lavender phone resembling a perfume bottle, which dispenses your favourite scent.
A Brix mobile phone has an extendable screen to allow to you watch movies while travelling. There's also a great little number to start a party with, that transforms into a jukebox.
Products in the pipeline for those not into phones include futuristic coffee machines, toothpaste dispensers with motion sensors, a gym concept car that gives you a workout en route and a calorie-burning chair. Those with lower expectations can take heart that cheaper laptops and higher-definition television screens are on their way.

Biotechnology is the integration of engineering and technology to the life sciences.
Biotechnologists frequently use microorganisms or biological substances to perform specific processes or for manufacturing. Examples include the production of drugs, hormones, foods and converting waste products.
There are many sub-branches involved in the biotech industry. A few of the more common branches include; molecular biology, genetic engineering, and cell biology.
A new and exciting sub-branch requiring biotechnologists is the field of nanotechnology. Nanotechnology gives us the capability to engineer the tiniest of objects, things at the molecular level. Nano means a billionth of a specific unit in Greek. Nanotechnology includes the study and manipulation of materials between 1 and 100 nanometers.
To give you an idea, DNA is approximately 2.5 nanometers. Red blood cells are 2.5 micrometers (1,000 times larger). And a sheet of paper is about 100,000 nanometers thick!
As you can imagine, it is very difficult to scale and mass produce objects within the realm of nanotechnology. Their minute size makes them nearly impossible to manipulate. But scientists and engineers have teamed up to make the seemingly impossible a reality.
Which means those with the proper training will be highly sought after in the future. The National Science Foundation estimates that the U.S. alone will need up to 1 million nanotechnology researchers. It is estimated that the need for nanotechnology workers will reach 2 million by 2015.
Therefore, if you're considering getting into the field of biotech, you may want to gear your background in nanotechnology if your school offers it or seek employment in this exciting new career field after graduating.
No matter what sub-branch you wind up specializing in, biotechnologists often collaborate with others in the laboratory and bounce ideas off one another. This can create a pleasant work environment; one that involves sharing with others and working together to achieve a great goal.