Some 34 of the world's leading biologists, physicists, chemists, Earth scientists and computer scientists, led by Stephen Emmott, of Microsoft Research in Cambridge, Britain, have spent the past eight months trying to understand how future developments in computing science might influence science as a whole.

ECONOMIST: The scientific method

The Make it So: Learning from Sci-Fi Interfaces panel at SXSW looked at how science fiction might influence the future of design.

BBC: Beyond the keyboard and mouse

Bush's critics argued the former president allowed political factors improperly to influence funding decisions for science initiatives as well as to skew official government findings on issues such as global warming.

CNN: Obama overturns Bush policy on stem cells

Although Frist's office and the White House said the Tennessee senator's announcement was not coordinated, he has so much influence as a doctor steeped in science and as an anti-abortion lawmaker that he hopes, and most believe, that his opinion will sway Bush.

CNN: Politics, science, morality of stem cell issue

No conclusive study shows that giving money to people to run for office attracts strong candidates, increases voter turnout, makes races more competitive or reduces the influence of big donors, said political science professor David Primo of the University of Rochester.

WSJ: NY seeks to use public dollars to fund campaigns

If more countries are participating in science, we are also seeing a shift in global influence.

UNESCO: MEDIA SERVICES

While the scientific opinions of an obscure legislator from rural Georgia may seem of little import, he is a member of the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology and therefore has an outsized influence over how we invest in the future.

FORBES: Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg Enters The Political Arena, Here's What He Should Focus On

In fact, a new study in Psychological Science by Dr. Rhodes and Lisa Chalik suggests that this intuitive social theory may even influence how children develop moral distinctions.

WSJ: Moral Puzzles That Tots Struggle With | Mind & Matter