"We are thrilled to support scientists who think big,

take risks and have made a significant impact on our lives. These scientists should be household names and heros in society," said Anne Wojcicki. "Curing a disease should be worth more than a touchdown," said Sergey Brin. "Priscilla and I are honored to be part of this," said Mark Zuckerberg. "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." "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," said Yuri Milner. Going forward, each year's prize winners will join the Selection Committee for future awardees. One of the distinguishing characteristics of the Breakthrough Prize will be a transparent selection process, in which anyone will be able to nominate a candidate online for consideration. Also, the prize can be shared between any number of deserving scientists and can be received more than once. In addition, there are no age restrictions for nominees. All Breakthrough Prize recipients will be invited to present public talks targeting a general audience. 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. About the Breakthrough Prize Foundation: The Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences Foundation is a not-for-profit corporation dedicated to advancing breakthrough research in life sciences, celebrating scientists and generating excitement about the pursuit of science as a career. Additional information about the Foundation and the 2013 recipients of the prizes can be found at http://www.Breakthroughprizeinlifesciences.Org. About the prize winners: Cornelia I. Bargmann Torsten N. Wiesel Professor and Head of the Lulu and Anthony Wang Laboratory of Neural Circuits and Behavior at the Rockefeller University. Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator. For the genetics of neural circuits and behavior, and synaptic guidepost molecules. David Botstein Director of the Lewis-Sigler Institute for Integrative Genomics and the Anthony B. Evnin Professor of Genomics at Princeton University. (MORE) PRNEWSWIRE/ASIANET VSS 02201759 NNNN