(CNN) The next Congress will include seven newly elected scientists, including a nuclear engineer and a biochemist.

Their supporters say these new scientist-legislators, all of them Democrats, will bring a fact-based approach to public policy and impact such issues as nuclear disarmament and climate change.

"They bring a real wealth of experience that's really lacking in Congress today," said Shaughnessy Naughton, president of 314 Action, a political action committee devoted to electing more public officials with backgrounds in science and related fields. "There are more reality show people in Congress, including our president, than there are chemists and physicists."

The committee endorsed 13 candidates for Congress this year who had some kind of STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) background. Seven of them were voted in.

The current Congress boasts just a few scientists -- among them a physicist, a microbiologist, and a chemist, all in the House. Among the 535 voting members are also eight engineers (7 in the House; 1 in the Senate) and several lawmakers who come from the medical field, such as physicians, dentists and psychologists.

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