The National Institutes of Health has awarded Nanosys Inc. of Palo Alto, Calif., the first phase of a Small Business Innovation Research grant to further develop and commercialize a biological sensor platform. By taking advantage of the unique properties of semiconductor nanowires, the technology is expected to detect the presence of biological and chemical species in less time and at lower cost than existing systems. Biologists, chemists, materials scientists and device engineers will collaborate on the project, which has the potential to affect a broad range of medical, research and defense fields.