[Update: see William J. Broad's article on this today in the New York Times]

Senator Obama replied to ScienceDebate2008's "14 top science questions facing America" last August. Senator McCain has now also replied. A side-by-side listing of the two presidential candidates' answers to each of the questions can be found here.

The questions were developed from over 3,400 submissions from the more than 38,500 signers of the ScienceDebate2008 initiative, including scientists, engineers, and other concerned Americans, as well as nearly every major American science organization, dozens of Nobel laureates, elected officials and business leaders, and the presidents of over 100 major American universities.

The 14 questions address energy policy, national security, economics in a science-driven global economy, climate change, education, health care, ocean health, biosecurity, clean water, space, stem cells, scientific integrity, genetics, and research.

Efforts to engage the candidates and their representatives in public discussions of science issues continue -- see, for example, the upcoming candidates' forum on 18 September organized by the Scientists and Engineers for America.

For more information on the ScienceDebate2008 initiative, to see a list of the signers, and to see detailed results of national polls, see www.sciencedebate2008.com.