From Chris Mooney, author of The Republican War on Science, Storm World, and the new book Unscientific America:

On Friday it became official: Dr. Francis Collins, scientist and evangelical Christian, has been confirmed unanimously to head the National Institutes of Health.
Collins’ nomination—and now his confirmation—has made some scientists uneasy. The reason? He doesn’t think as they do. Collins fully accepts the scientific description of reality (for instance, he’s very pro-evolution), but also holds spiritual views that impute religious meaning to that reality.
Accordingly, there have been attempts to suggest that Collins might let his religion impinge upon his science, or interfere with his leadership of the NIH—but such allegations have been pretty speculative, and hardly measure up against his impressive scientific C.V. If heading up the Human Genome Project isn’t adequate proof that one is dedicated to science—regardless of personal beliefs—it’s hard to know what would be.
I applaud Collins’ confirmation not only because I consider him competent for the job, but because I think he’s the kind of figure who’s capable of serving as a depolarizer of our unending culture wars over science and religion. He cuts a very different image of the scientist: a guitar-slinging Christian. He defeats stereotypes, and tries to build bridges.
Not only will Collins run the NIH well, then, but he’ll help broaden our minds about the complex interrelationship between science and religion.