Nanotechnology has been conspicuously absent as a tech buzzword for years, but that’s just because the fad has passed. The technology itself is alive and well. Nanotechnology is the science of engineering products by tinkering with molecular or atomic structures.

More than 1,600 consumer products owe their existence to nanotechnology. It is used extensively in agriculture, and medicine is embracing it to treat everything from cancer to autoimmune diseases. Nanotechnology also features in touchscreens and all sorts of displays, batteries, and even laundry detergents. So it has quietly become the disruptive force many predicted a decade ago.

Because nanotechnology continues to transform all types of products, breakthroughs still occur. Two nanotech companies on the cutting edge are NVE Corp. (NSDQ: NVEC) and Organovo (NSDQ: ONVO). NVE is a profitable company with a variety of products on the market and in the pipeline. Organovo, on the other hand, is a deeply risky company, but one that could revolutionize organ transplants.

Selling Sensors

NVE is already revolutionizing sensors with a technology so groundbreaking the developers won the 2007 Nobel Prize in physics. Here’s the science: A conventional sensor uses an electron’s charge to record and store information. NVE has totally disrupted that model with sensors and data storage devices that use electron spin rather than electron charge.

What’s so special about “spintronics” instead of charge? Spintronic devices can be smaller yet more sensitive and accurate. Plus, they are much more durable because they have fewer moving parts and use less power.

NVE’s sensors already feature in many medical applications such as pacemakers, hearing aids and drug pumps. The sensors also have replaced a key component of medical devices, “reed switches,” with switches that not only last infinitely longer but also use far less power.

Spintronics is also behind NVE’s memory cells, which can be embedded at higher densities than traditional memory mediums, supplying more memory in a smaller area. Any data stored on them is retained even when the device is powered off. These memory cells are also much more rugged and so less easily damaged.

The company is developing applications for its technology on multiple fronts. For example, NVE is developing sensors capable of detecting biological agents more reliably. Those sensors could be used at airports to warn of biological attacks or in medical diagnostic instruments. The company is also working on a solid-state compass that is smaller and more precise than existing devices, making it ideal for smartphones or GPS technology. In addition to developing its own products, NVE also conducts research and development for other companies and governments, which adds some stability to revenue.

NVE is a great value, mostly because revenue and earnings were slightly off in fiscal 2016, which ended in March. Total revenue fell 9% to $27.7 million due to a decline in product sales, as many end users were treading water with new product development. Much of that drop was offset by NVE’s research and development revenue, which shot up 379%. Net income also dropped from $2.95 per share in fiscal 2015 to $2.53. In fiscal 2017 revenue and earnings should improve, as new research and development usually precedes new orders, but the company doesn’t provide guidance.

Right now the shares trade at 23.3 times trailing earnings, in line with NVE’s historical average but well below its industry as a whole. Assuming earnings remain steady or rise, the stock trades at a discount to this year’s earnings.

Another attractive feature is that you’ll be paid well even as NVE radically changes its industry. With no debt and a cash-heavy balance sheet, NVE pays a $1 quarterly dividend to yield better than 7%.

Buy NVE Corp. under $62.

Printing a Liver

Organovo uses nanotechnology to create synthetic human tissues. The company creates a tissue “film” from organic compounds that replicates human liver or skin tissue, for example. Then using 3D printing technology, Organovo “prints” an organ. The company’s goal is to create fully functional human organs that can be used for transplant. Earlier this month, Organovo announced that it was designing a formal preclinical development program based on promising animal studies.

Currently, there are 17,000 Americans waiting for a liver transplant, but many will die before an organ becomes available. In fact, donor organs of all types are so scarce that 18 people die every day waiting for a transplant. Can you imagine if a hospital could simply print a new organ for every patient?

In the meantime, the company isn’t bereft of products. Organovo currently supplies its synthetic liver tissue to Merck and other drugmakers for testing new drugs, and provides skin tissue to L’Oreal for cosmetics testing. It also supplies tissues to several medical schools and universities for research purposes.

To be clear, those sales aren’t generating significant revenue, and the company is burning through cash rapidly, with no earnings to speak of. With stock issued in three of the five years that Organovo has traded publicly, shareholders face significant dilution in the value of their shares.

So far this year, Organovo’s shares have risen nearly 41% on strong volume, and investors are starting to notice. Institutional ownership also has been climbing as mutual funds and other big investors have taken positions in the company. Organovo is still at least a few years away from creating an organ for transplant, but having tissues that are already suitable for drug testing shows the company is on the right track.

Still, don’t mistake this for anything other than a risky bet: In its last fiscal year (ended in March), Organovo had $1.48 per share in revenue and lost a total of $38.6 million.

Buy Organovo under $6.