Gov advisers pick six crucial techs for UK
If you're not on the list, you're not coming...
Posted in Science, 27th November 2007 11:13 GMT
Free whitepaper – Total cost of ownership of Dell, HP and IBM blade solutions
The Council for Science and Technology, which advises the Prime Minister and First Ministers on medium to long-term science strategy, has chosen six technologies it reckons are crucial for the UK.
The Council looked for technologies that would reap a commercial or social reward in about five years' time.
The report picks six technology areas of particular interest: Carbon capture and storage; disaster mitigation technologies; low carbon distribution networks; medical devices; e-health and plastic electronics. Two of these technology areas, plastic electronics and e-health, are considered "high risk/high reward".
The committee also highlighted four other areas of interest: Bandwidth telecommunications; cell and tissure therapies; pervasive systems; and simulation and modelling. The group calls on the government not to channel funding into these areas but "provide additional resources and remove barriers that might otherwise impede progress".
The report is available as a pdf from here.
What do you think? Are these the most likely technologies for success within the next five years? Should the government help or stay well away? What technology should the government be backing? Let us know in Reader Comments below. ®
Free whitepaper – Total cost of ownership of Dell, HP and IBM blade solutions

The Register Agile Data Center Summit
Analyst Keynote: The Register Agile Data Center Summit

Dirty, dirty PCs: The X-rated picture guide
Top 500 supers - rise of the Linux quad-cores
Early adopters bloodied by Ubuntu's Karmic Koala
Sign up, sign up for The Register IT security newsletter