Russian billionaire and Silicon Valley investor Yuri Milner, 53, gave out $21 million to seven Breakthrough Prize awardees Sunday, Nov. 8. The awards were given to scientists to honor their contributions to the fields of life sciences, math and physics.
Among the recipients of the three-year-old award-giving body were six scientists, a huge group of researchers and a high school student. Each of the awaredees received $3 million.
The seven recepients of the 2016 Breakthrough Prize Awards include Karl Deisseroth from Stanford University and Edward Boyden from Massachusetts Institute of Technology for their discovery of optogenetics, which involves the use of light signals to control brain activity and treat Parkinson's disease.
Another recipient is Helen Hobbs from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, who presented genetic ideas pertaining to the unsuccessful cholesterol-clearing up mechanisms of the body. Her insights will help experts develop new ways to prevent liver and heart diseases.
John Hardy from the University College London, was also honored for his discovery of genetic changes in the protein plaque that accumulates in the brain during the early phase of Alzheimer's disease.
The last awardee in the Life Sciences category is Svante Pääbo, the director of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, who worked on ancient genomes and DNA that shed a light on the possible links of modern humans to Neanderthals and other long-lost relatives.
In the field of math, Ian Agol from the University of California at Berkeley received the award for doing the final touches on a topology theory that started in 1982.
In Physics, the $3 million reward would be divided to 1,377 scientists for taking a part in a scientific collaboration that aims to reveal the mystery behind neutrinos, a typical yet elusive particle that besets all existence. The participants will receive about $2,300 each.
A high school student from North Royalton, Ohio, named Ryan Chester was the youngest recipient and was awarded due to his excellent video entitled "Some Cool Ways of Looking at the Special Theory of Relativity."
Aside from the seven major awards, Breakthrough Prize also gave out New Horizons Prizes for individual experts, whose scientific investigations and staff are still in the initial stages of the research.
The winners were awarded during a black-tie event held at NASA's Ames Research Center in Mountain View. Animator Seth MacFarlane was the host while Grammy winner Pharell Williams performed and Hollywood celebrities Hilary Swank and Russell Crowe were presenters.
"I would love to give $3 million to each one, but we're not there yet," said Milner. He added that he came up with such event to celebrate the careers of scientific experts in a glamorous way, just like how television shows and movies are recognized.
