85 Percent of Americans Are Right About Something

While it’s unlikely to match the size of the audience watching the American Idol finale, a presidential debate on science has won the endorsement of 85 percent of Americans, according to a poll commissioned by Research!America and ScienceDebate2008.com. Health care, climate change and energy top the list of topics preferred by poll respondents. Here are some other highlights: * 84 percent agreed that scientific innovations improve our standard of living. * 67 percent agreed on the supremacy of scientific evidence over personal belief. * 50 percent agreed it was important for the candidates to talk about the influence of scientific findings on policy. The full results are available here. The Research!America site offers useful statistical data for non-members, including a state-by-state compilation of total research dollars received and their sources. Not surprisingly, California ranks first. Closer to home – and for those who are not regular readers of the Potrero View, one of San Francisco’s many community newspapers — you will find an inspiring story on the opera-singing wife of this year’s first Science Café researcher, Andrej Sali, PhD. And to demonstrate how “cutting-edge” Science Café can be, I draw your attention to this BBC science story that validates the “Floss or Die” views of School of Dentistry researcher Mark Ryder, DMD. Next up for Science Café, a conversation with aging researcher and medical anthropologist Sharon Kaufman, PhD. Make a comment on this story