Science has not played a huge part thus far in the ongoing 2012 presidential race, but those with an interest and a stake in US research and innovation finally have something to chew on. Today the campaigns of both principal candidates, Barack Obama and Mitt Romney, submitted detailed answers to a set of science-policy questions put to them by ScienceDebate.org.  The candidates weighed in on climate change, biosecurity, the state of the world’s oceans and much more.

Both sets of answers are presented here by Scientific American in a side-by-side format that invites comparison. Scientific American, part of Nature Publishing Group, is a media partner in the effort to get US politicians to respond publicly on science issues. The magazine’s editors are also looking to readers to offer their reactions to Obama’s and Romney’s responses on science — so don’t hold back.