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The article examines the recent projects and opportunities for research in nanomedicine and nanoinformatics, particularly the European project titled ACTION-Grid. It evaluates and analyzes the principle and scientific issues toward the new fields of nanomedicine and nanoinformatics. It concludes that the achievements in nanomedicine will necessitate new strategies such as the utilization of information technologies which could help in establishing medical research at the nano scale.

Objective: To describe potential areas of collaboration between Medical Informatics (BI) and Bioinformatics (BI) and their effects on planning future work in both disciplines., Methods: Some reflections on the objectives and rationale underpinning MI and BI are given, and preliminary results from the BIOINFOMED workgroup, supported by the European Commission, are introduced., Results: Applications from both subfields suggest topics for sharing and exchange between the subfields within the emerging field of Biomedical Informatics., Conclusions: We suggest how the nature and degree of collaboration between the sub-disciplines can impact future work in molecular medicine.

Over the past decade there have been several attempts to rethink the basic strategies and scope of medical informatics. Meanwhile, bioinformatics has only recently experienced a similar debate about its scientific character. Both disciplines envision the development of novel diagnostic, therapeutic, and management tools, and products for patient care. A combination of the expertise of medical informatics in developing clinical applications and the focused principles that have guided bioinformatics could create a synergy between the two areas of application. Such interaction could have a great influence on future health research and the ultimate goal, namely continuity and individualization of health care. This article summarizes current activities related to facilitating synergy between medical informatics and bioinformatics, emphasizing activities in Europe while relating them to efforts in other parts of the world. The report provides examples of the analysis that European investigators are carrying out, aiming to propose new ideas for collaborations between medical informatics and bioinformatics researchers in a variety of areas.