This level of reservation is the lowest reported by citizens in major industrial nations. This level of positive assessment of scientific research has been stable for four decades and is consistent with the high esteem noted above. College graduates and citizens attentive to science and technology policy hold even more positive views of science. For more than a decade, Americans have been evenly divided on the benefits and harms of using nuclear power to generate electricity. A similar division exists over the benefits and potential harms of genetic engineering, but there is a clearer difference by level of education.
College graduates hold a much more positive view of genetic modification research.
The general public is evenly divided over the relative benefits and costs of the space program. College graduates and those who are attentive to space exploration remain very positive toward the program. Nearly 80 percent of Americans agree that the Federal Government should support basic scientific research that advances the frontiers of knowledge even when it does not provide any immediate benefits. Asked of national samples of American adults since 1985, total public approval of government support of basic scientific research has remained constant at about 80 percent throughout the last decade. During the same time period, approximately 90 percent of Americans with a baccalaureate degree voiced approval for government support of basic scientific research.