7992733f-063b-ebe4-edd2-2900bfd27faa.jpg

Last nightʼs debate was fascinating on several levels, but leaving the punditry to pundits, I was struck by the fact that, once again, both candidates brought up autism. Apart from AIDS, I donʼt recall a single health issue that has received more attention from presidential candidates.

Senator McCain has brought up autism before on the campaign trail, as have Senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama.

When McCain said that Palin understands autism “better than most”, I thought at first that he had goofed, mixing up autism with Palinʼs childʼs Down syndrome. But the Anchorage Daily News reported Palin mentioning a nephew with autism in a 2006 gubernatorial debate.

More to our interest here, however, it was Obama who called attention to the need for funding research. Obama is also the choice of many prominent scientists: to date, 65 Nobel laureates have thrown their support behind him; Harold Varmus, beloved former director of the National Institutes of Health, is one of his science advisors; and last week, Francis Collins, director of the National Health Genome Research Institute, officially endorsed him.

Iʼm thrilled that after eight years of being marginalized and muffled by the Bush administration, scientists are making themselves heard. If you want more information before you make up your mind, here are a few excellent resources:

Scientists and Engineers for Americaʼs interactive map allows you to see where candidates stand on key issues

Natureʼs election special: note that although Obamaʼs campaign provided answers to Natureʼs questions, McCain declined, and the magazine had to fill in with statements made elsewhere.

Nature Medicineʼs election special, focusing primarily on biomedical research, and including coverage of people and lobby groups with clout.