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Tech Leaders Create Most Lucrative Science Prize In History

Posted by samzenpus on from the bucks-for-brains dept.

redletterdave writes "Mark Zuckerberg, Sergey Brin and Yuri Milner have teamed up to create The Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences Foundation, which now offers the most lucrative annual prize in the history of science: A $33 million pot to be split among 11 people, with individual rewards worth $3 million apiece. Comparatively, the monetary value of the Nobel prize is just $1.1 million. 'Our society needs more heroes who are scientists, researchers and engineers,' Zuckerberg said. 'We need to celebrate and reward the people who cure diseases, expand our understanding of humanity and work to improve people's lives.'"

12 of 147 comments (clear)

  1. Was Zuckerberg always so thoughtful- by vswee · · Score: 4, Interesting

    or is this some sort of advertising thing? You simply cant's trust people with money and power to be genuine these days.

    1. Re:Was Zuckerberg always so thoughtful- by mwvdlee · · Score: 5, Insightful

      First thought when I read the names Zuckerberg and Brin was; There must be a clause in there which states that to claim the prices means handing over any and all patents.

      I do agree with the sentiment that a "hero" is somebody who saves lives rather than somebody who is really good at sports, making money or generally getting themselves in front of a camera. People seem to admire the wrong people nowadays.

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    2. Re:Was Zuckerberg always so thoughtful- by jmhobrien · · Score: 4, Funny

      NO WAY! This is a genuine philanthropic endeavor by some of the most altruistic people on the planet. They are giving away their fortunes out of the goodness of their hearts. And besides, isn't it better that we let the righteous distribute their earnings as they see fit, and not let those socialist tax collectors get in the way?

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    3. Re:Was Zuckerberg always so thoughtful- by the+gnat · · Score: 5, Insightful

      And besides, isn't it better that we let the righteous distribute their earnings as they see fit, and not let those socialist tax collectors get in the way?

      One of the stranger complaints I've read about the philanthropy of Bill Gates was that it unfairly allows Bill Gates to decide which causes are worthy, instead of the people of the United States. This is rather perverse if you consider what he's spending the money on - how many Americans do you think die from malaria each year? Any guesses how many Americans would vote to continue funding research into malaria versus, say, obesity or Alzheimer's or other 1st-world afflictions? Basically, people are upset that his charity is directed at impoverished equatorial nations instead of the American middle class.

      I'm no fan of how Bill Gates made his money - I still wince every time I have to use Microsoft products, with the lone exception of their optical mice - nor am I a particular fan of Facebook. But I think in this case I'll trust their judgement over that of the people who elected Bush twice.

  2. Immortality. by Dr_Barnowl · · Score: 4, Insightful

    It's a bid for immortality. Young rich guys sponsoring biotech research? They want to live forever.

  3. Re:Slight difference with Nobel... by Starky · · Score: 4, Funny

    I couldn't agree more. Because of the dread Nobel prize, radical left-wingers like Einstein, Fermi, Schrödinger, and Heisenberg have ruined physics.

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  4. Re:Slight difference with Nobel... by DMiax · · Score: 5, Informative

    The Nobel Prizes for the sciences have always been very well chosen. The biggest criticism have always been about who was left out, but I have never heard of one given to a less than brilliant scientist. If you are thinking of the Nobel Prize for Peace, it is hard to disagree... In the committee's defense, the concept itself is extremely political by nature, so every choice is going to look partisan. But you should not confuse the two.

  5. What about improving scientists career paths? by complex_pi · · Score: 5, Insightful

    If we want to have actual heroes doing the research that will lead to such prizes, why not give reasonable career path to scientists? Right now, heroes are first selected by "who is willing to stay in academia despite the working condition", which is not a very interesting criterion in my opinion.

  6. Re:Slight difference with Nobel... by JaredOfEuropa · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Obama made a few rousing speeches after his election, which at the time was enough of a promise for this Prize to be awarded. He also got it for "not being Bush". If the Nobel committee knew then what they know now, I doubt they'd consider Obama for a Prize. That's the problem with giving accolades like these, even the political ones, on the strength of hope and promises rather than actual effort and results. Oh well, the latest Peace Prize was given to the "EU"... at a time when some of us Europeans feel that EU measures are actually a destabilizing factor.

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  7. Re:Yeah right. by JaredOfEuropa · · Score: 5, Insightful

    So just because he once had those cards made, probably as a joke, when he started the company, should he now be forever ignored? Come on...

    Scientists will take this prize as seriously as the selection process is going to be. If they award this to deserving scientists, then the scientific community will, over time, take them seriously. Silly business cards of one of the founders notwithstanding.

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  8. And by Murdoch5 · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I think truly great teachers should be included. Now to be fair out of the last 20 years of school I think I could nominate two profs. Good teachers are almost impossible to find. Just like great science leaders or engineers, a great teacher can inspire, the problem is 99.9999% of teachers inspire kids to give up rather then strive ( like my entire experience in elementary and secondary ).

  9. Re:that's nice by IndustrialComplex · · Score: 4, Insightful

    We live in a world where we have beaten most diseases and already live longer than we should

    Oh yeah... beaten most disease? Give me a fucking break. We certainly nailed some big viruses, but those aren't diseases.

    Let me know when you figure out how to cure something as simple as Migraine headaches. How about depression, we have 'treatments' but certainly no cures, and those treatments are a crapshoot. Maybe this drug works... oh no, well lets try this one... Yeah it works, but your heartrate doubled...

    The simple fact of the matter is that the current state of 'medicine' is that your options for actually beating a disease are:
    1. Take a vaccine for the cause before you actually get the disease (if a vaccine exists)
    2. Take antibiotics if it is bacterial in nature. Hope that the infection hasn't caused irreversable damage
    3. Take a knife and cut it out.
    4. Sew it back up.

    Everything else is basically palliative care. We are just now beginning to se the barest glimpse of genetic treatments, and you are considering most diseases beaten and that people live too long?

    I know misanthropy is hip on slashdot, but that doesn't make you right.

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