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Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan Announce $3 Billion Initiative To 'Cure All Diseases' (venturebeat.com)

Yesterday, researchers on behalf of Microsoft said they will "solve" cancer within the next 10 years by treating it like a computer virus that invades and corrupts the body's cells. Today, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan announced a $3 billion initiative to "cure all diseases." VentureBeat reports: The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, a company created by Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan to "unlock human potential and promote equality," today announced "Chan Zuckerberg Science," a $3 billion project that aims to cure, prevent, or manage "all diseases in our children's lifetime." "That doesn't mean that no one will ever get sick," Mark Zuckerberg later said. But the program hopes to eventually make all diseases treatable -- or at least easily manageable -- by the end of the 21st century. "Our society spends 50x more treating people who are sick than on finding cures. We can do better than that," said Zuckerberg. A press release from the Initiative says Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan will provide "at least $3 billion over the next decade to help jumpstart this work." "The plan," as Zuckerberg called it, is to "bring scientists and engineers together, build tools and technology, [and] grow the movement to fund science." That plan includes a program called Biohub, a partnership between Stanford University, Berkeley, and UCSF that "will focus on understanding underlying mechanisms of disease and developing new technologies which will lead to actionable diagnostics and effective therapies." You can watch the full Chan Zuckerberg Science presentation here.

6 of 161 comments (clear)

  1. IGotCancerDoIHearAIDSGotAIDSFromTheManInTheHoodie by Pseudonymous+Powers · · Score: 5, Funny

    Yesterday, researchers on behalf of Microsoft said they will "solve" cancer within the next 10 years by treating it like a computer virus that invades and corrupts the body's cells. Today, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan announced a $3 billion initiative to "cure all diseases."

    "I see how it is. Fine. I, Jeff Bezos, pledge an end to all human suffering by sometime in the next six months."

  2. Drop in the bucket by DrYak · · Score: 5, Funny

    Dear Mister Zuckerberg,

    We think that you're grossly underestimating the size of the effort.
    But thank you for diverting a bit of your fortune to our cause.
    It's a refreshing change from counting on big pharma corporations to divert a bit from their marketing budget....

    - The scientists in the life-science field

    --
    "Sufficiently advanced satire is indistinguishable from reality." - [Tips: 1DrYakQDKCQ6y52z6QbnkxHXAocMZJE61o ]
    1. Re:Drop in the bucket by starless · · Score: 5, Informative

      The one advantage that a not for profit has is that they can look for cures that might not be profitable.

      You mean like the Howard Hughes Medical Institute with an endowment of $18 billion and spending of $800 million per year?
      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...

      Or the Wellcome Trust with an endowment of 18 billion pounds (~ $23 billion)
      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...

      Or the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation with $44 billion
      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...

      And of course there is the research supported by the NIH (that spends $26 billion annually) , NHS etc.
      Somehow it seems $3 billion is a rather modest (if welcome) addition to the overall scope of non-profit medical
      research...

  3. Re:IGotCancerDoIHearAIDSGotAIDSFromTheManInTheHood by MancunianMaskMan · · Score: 5, Funny

    Yesterday, researchers on behalf of Microsoft said they will "solve" cancer within the next 10 years by treating it like a computer virus that invades and corrupts the body's cells. Today, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan announced a $3 billion initiative to "cure all diseases."

    "I see how it is. Fine. I, Jeff Bezos, pledge an end to all human suffering by sometime in the next six months."

    I, Larry Ellison, will eliminate all humans in a week!

  4. 1% Pissing Contest by Tablizer · · Score: 5, Funny

    It's like they are trying to one-up each other:

    Microsoft: "We'll cure cancer."

    Zuck&Chan: "Oh yah? We'll cure everything!"

    Trump: "I'll cure everything twice as fast and make the germs pay for it!"

    Hillary: "I already did all those, but unfortunately misplaced the emails with the formulas."

  5. Re:you are forgiven... by ShanghaiBill · · Score: 5, Informative

    I suspect Zuckerberg is the first person to seriously think he could cure, prevent or manage all diseases for just $3 billion.

    He doesn't think that, and he didn't say that. The quote about "curing all diseases" is taken out of context. If you look at what he actually said, it is clear that he meant that as an aspiration for all of humanity over the next century, not just for his project. So the headline, summary, and TFA are yet more examples of garbage journalism. They are are more than just distorted and misleading, they are outright lies.