Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan, want to cure all diseases and they have put their money where their mouth is by saying they will invest $3b in research on curing diseases in the world. The announcement has drawn a lot of praise from fellow philanthropists Bill and Melinda Gates. In a tweet yesterday, Bill Gates calld the announcement by the Zuckerbergs “incredible news”.
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Even the likes of former California governor and actor Arnold Schwarzenegger said “I always love seeing you give back, because you know I believe life is all about what we give, not what we make. This project sounds fantastic for all of humankind, and I know with your genius behind it you will accomplish your goals.
It’s also fitting that it will be in California, because as you know, we’re always on the cutting edge here at the Golden Dream by the Sea.”
As part of the initiative, a $600m research Centre in San Francisco, California called Biohub will be built in partnership with Stanford and University of California. It’s also said that Neurobiologist Cori Bargmann will become the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative’s new president of science.
The Zuckerbergs who have a 10 month old daughter have also pledged to give away 99 percent of their wealth through their initiative. The goal is to eventually cure all diseases in the lifetime of Max their daughter.
It’s a tall order but with the right investment and team, this could become a dream come true. Diseases like cancer kill over 7.6 million people each year within the ages of 30 to 69 years. This is bad for the developed world especially which is seeing a more aging population.
Paul Balo is the founder of TechBooky and a highly skilled wireless communications professional with a strong background in cloud computing, offering extensive experience in designing, implementing, and managing wireless communication systems.
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