Sarah Rothman | Saving America's science

Of the three candidates, only Senator Hillary Clinton has actually promised to end the war.

The war on science, that is.

Did you know we're in the middle of a war on science? We are. And it's being fought on many fronts.

There are life-science researchers at Universities and the National Institutes of Health whose research could benefit from access to embryonic stem cells. They are bravely carrying on their work despite the fact that many of their talented colleagues are moving abroad to Singapore or the United Kingdom, where restrictions on research are much less prohibitive. And in addition to facing a restrictive research environment, these people are competing for federal funding that has flatlined in the past eight years.

There are the scientists of the Environmental Protection Agency, the Centers for Disease Control and NASA who continue to express their unbiased opinions on controversial topics such as climate change and birth control, while the administration attempts to censor and distort these results to conform to its political beliefs.

And as with any other war, there are the dissenters.

It turns out that the extent of this war on science is a matter of perspective. If you are a scientist in the private sector, life under the Bush administration hasn't been too shabby; among companies who are members of the Pharmacuetical Research and Manufacturers of America, R&D; funding reached a high of $40 billion in 2005. And for any researcher whose work falls under the framework of "biodefense," funding has been easy to come by as well.

It seems that this war, like at least one other I can think of, is a bit controversial. Which is why it is about time the candidates had a major debate focused on the scientific issues: climate change, stem cell research and political interference in scientific reporting.

Unfortunately, all three major candidates declined invitations to participate in Science Debate 2008 on April 18th at the Franklin Institute.

Science Debate 2008 is a grass-roots effort that was first supported by a large coalition of science bloggers. It's now being backed by the biggest names in science and academia, including nearly every professional science organization, Nobel laureates and University presidents (thanks for signing on Amy!).

Although much can be gleaned from the candidate's Web sites, it is time to hear it straight from the candidates themselves. All three have made promises to the scientific community. Senator Clinton has promised to rescind the ban on ethical embryonic stem cell research. Senator Obama has promised $1 billion for Autism research. Senator McCain, while somewhat vague on science policy, nonetheless promises to develop a greater focus on the treatment of chronic disease through dedicated federal research.

All three candidates pledged to make the R&D; tax credit - which allows companies to write off a portion of their R&D; expenses - permanent.

Before you think it's too late because our primary's over, remember this: that was the primary, not the general election. We are still many months from choosing the next president and a Science Debate 2008 invitation has already been re-issued to the candidates for Oregon in early May.

As a voter, educate yourself on these issues. Read the candidates statements on science on the Web site of the American Academy for the Advancement of the Sciences (election2008.aaas.org). And then add yourself to the list of people who want our candidates to talk about science (sciencedebate2008.com).

Because whether or not you believe that the Bush administration is waging a war on science, I hope you at least believe that we should be talking about it.

Sarah Rothman is a former Daily Pennsylvanian columnist and sixth-year doctoral student in the Department of Bioengineering, from Fayetteville, NY.

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