Mark Zuckerberg and Sergey Brin launch £10million 'Silicon Valley Nobel' prize to 'turn scientists into heroes'

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg has joined Google co-founder Sergey Brin, Apple chairman Art Levinson and a host of Silicon Valley's biggest names to launch their own equivalent of the Nobel Prize.
The Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences is a £10m ($15m) prize that rewards researchers who work at 'curing intractable diseases and extending human life.'
Zuckerberg, whose wife Priscilla Chan is also involved in the award, said he hopes that it helps society recognize more engineers and scientists as 'heroes'.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, left, at the launch of the Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences

THE FIRST WINNERS

Eric S Lander: Maps of the human genome

Lewis C Cantley: Discovered the PI 3-Kinase and its role in cancer metabolism.

Shinya Yamanaka: Research into adult stem cells.

Titia de Lange: Her research on the role of telomeres in genome instability in cancer won her the award.

Charles S Sawyers: He was praised for his work on cancer genes and targeted therapy.

Hans Clevers: He was honoured for describing the role of Wnt signalling in tissue stem cells and cancer.

Napoleone Ferrara: Discoveries of mechanisms of angiogenesis that led to therapies for cancer and eye diseases.

Bert Vogelstein: Work on cancer genomics and tumor surpressor genes
Robert A Weinberg: Characterisation of cancer genes was honoured.

Cornelia I Bargmann: Research on genetics of neural circuits and behaviour, and synaptic guidepost molecules.

'Priscilla and I are honored to be part of this,' Zuckerberg said at an event to launch the new foundation.

'We believe the Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences has the potential to provide a platform for other models of philanthropy, so people everywhere have an opportunity at a better future.'

Apple chairman Art Levinson will serve as the chairman of the foundation.
The foundation has already selected 11 winners for this year, including neurobiologist Cornelia Bargmann, geneticist Hans Clevers and molecular biologist Napolean Ferrara, each of whom will receive $3 million.

 

It plans to award five annual prizes similar to the way the Nobel Prize works.
Mr Brin, who attented the launch wearing his firm's Goolge Glass headset, said: 'Curing a disease should be worth more than a touchdown,' making reference to the huge salaries of sportsmen.
'I am delighted to announce the launch of the Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences and welcome its first recipients,' said Art Levinson.
'I believe this new prize will shine a light on the extraordinary achievements of the outstanding minds in the field of life sciences, enhance medical innovation, and ultimately become a platform for recognizing future discoveries. 
'I also want to thank our founding sponsors, Sergey Brin, Anne Wojcicki, Mark Zuckerberg, Priscilla Chan and Yuri Milner.
'Without their contribution, this prize would not have been possible.'
Yuri Milner said the award was not competing with the Nobel prize.
'Solving the enormous complexity of human diseases calls for a much bigger effort compared to fundamental physics and therefore requires multiple sponsors to reward outstanding achievements,' he said.
Mr Milner, who bought a $200million stake in Facebook in 2009, revealed the reason behind his personal drive to launch the award.
'Unfortunately I have two very close relatives with very bad diseases - one of them is cancer.
'This is part of my personal connection with this prize.'

Google co-founder Sergey Brin wears Google Glass glasses at an announcement for the Breakthrough Prize in Life Scienc. Dr Cornelia Bargmann, right, was one of those honoured for her work in genetic research

'We are thrilled to support scientists who think big, take risks and have made a significant impact on our lives,' said Anne Wojcicki, the founder of genetic testing company 23andme and wife of Google's Sergey Brin.
'These scientists should be household names and heros in society,' she said.
Recipients will also be invited to present public talks, similar to the popular TED talks.
'These lectures, together with supporting materials, will be made available to the public, allowing  everyone to keep abreast of the latest developments in life sciences, guided by contemporary masters of the field,' the organisation said.

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