With less than two months left before the next U.S. president is elected, ScienceBlogs wanted to dedicate a space to campaign politics. A Vote For Science is a group blog that will focus on the candidates' science policies. It is 
One of the first things Martin Chalfie wanted to do after learning that he won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry is endorse Barack Obama for President of the United States. That brings the total number of Nobel Prize winners in science endorsing Obama to 63. Originally 61 winners came out and endorsed Obama, but soon after the release of the letter, Murray Gell-Mann, who won the Prize in Physics in 1969 came forward to add his name.
Chalfie won the prize for his early work on using green fluorescent protein to mark cells. This is by far the largest number of Nobelists to ever endorse a candidate for President. I do not know of any Nobelists in science that have endorsed McCain, so if anyone hears of one, please let me know.
I wonder whether this years other recipients Roger Tsien of UCSD and Osamu Shimomura of Woods Hole Marine Biological Laboratory will also come out to endorse Senator Obama for President. You can read the updated Nobel endorsement letter HERE.
Politics
Comments
Has anyone considered starting an endorsement letter signed by sciencebloggers?
Posted by: Friendly Denizen | October 8, 2008 7:53 PM
Who cares? It means nothing. Chalfie's accomplishments in the lab, whatever the significance of green jellyfish might be, are to be commended.
His scientific achievements and genius--and those of the other winners--mean nothing in terms of political wisdom. In fact, these geniuses cloistered and confined to their labs and insular world of publications, conferences and research, suggests they are divorced from the larger issues of world terrorism, national defense and economic recovery. Congratulations to Chalfie for his honor, but spare me any lessons to be derived from his political judgments, supporting a corrupt Chicago politician on the make, and his anti-semitic, bigoted and terrorist associations. I'm one long time Democrat who is not swayed by the siren song of this extremist and huckster.
Posted by: BethesdaDog | October 10, 2008 5:50 AM
And if that happens, some wingnut's gonna email everybody saying Osam
u-a just endorsed Sen. Obama.Posted by: tguy | October 11, 2008 5:45 PM