Of eight areas, medical research was rated as "most valuable" by almost half of those polled--49 percent--while environmental and energy investigation were so ranked by 29 percent and 10 percent, respectively. At the bottom end of the sampling, only 1 percent to 3 percent of the people questioned gave top votes to electronics, computer, space, defense, and transportation research--among the most heavily funded areas of scientific inquiry.
"The American love affair with medical research continues," notes a statement from the pollster.
A nationwide cross section of 1,255 people was polled by telephone by the Harris organization between March 18 and 24. The poll is accurate to plus or minus 3 percentage points, at 95 percent certainty.
When asked in which areas they would like to see more--or less--money spent, 91 percent of people questioned said the country should spend more on medical research. Only 5 percent thought less should be ...
