The award Breakthrough Prize – «Award for Breakthrough” – was founded in 2012 by Russian entrepreneur and investor Yuri Milner, and then supported Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, developer and co-founder of Google, Sergey Brin, as well as Chinese entrepreneurs and founder of Alibaba Group Jack Ma, together with their wives. Most recently, Yuri Milner, together with confined to a wheelchair British scientist Stephen Hawking launched a large-scale project to search for extraterrestrial life . Despite the fact that there is a premium for long, it has already gained quite fame – publication The Guardian even calls the “Award for Breakthrough” “scientific Oscar».
The prize is awarded in several categories: “Biology and Medicine” (“Life Sciences» – Life Sciences), «Fundamental Physics” and “Mathematics”. In addition, there are special award under the category: Breakthrough Junior Challenge and New Horizons. To take part in the first competition is open to young people aged 13 to 18 years, which should record a short video that reveals a serious scientific idea in the field of physics, mathematics and biology. This year’s competition attracted more than 2 thousand. Young science enthusiasts from 86 countries. The amount of the second prize – “New Horizons” – is $ 100 thousand., And handed it to young scientists for their achievements in the field of mathematics or physics.
By the way, the amount of basic remuneration payable under the Breakthrough Prize, exceeds the sum of received the Nobel Prize winners.
For example, this year awarded in the field of life science researchers will receive $ 3 million, and the total amount of payments in each category will be $ 21, 9 million.
Another difference ‘Award for Breakthrough “by the Nobel Prize is the first awarded to researchers of recent advances and discoveries, and in the case of the” Nobel “at the opening and awards ceremony can divide more than a dozen years.
Life Sciences, from Alzheimer’s to Neanderthal
The winners Breakthrough Prize this year in the life sciences – biology and medicine – have become Karl Deisseroth and Edward Boyden for their contribution to the development of optogenetics, a technique of research work of nerve cells, which is to introduce into their specific membrane channels (opsins), responsive to the excitation light.
This technique allows for fundamental research of the mechanisms of the brain, for example, with its help, it became possible to create volume, “maps” the brain .
The technology called Clarity («Clarity”) allows scientists to see the structure of the neural circuits in the intact brain, however, is the case with mice. And how Karl Deisseroth could significantly improve mental skills test rodents, “zasvechivaya” the individual cells of the cerebral cortex, the science department have told a few years ago.
In the sciences Life award also received John Hardy, who studies neurodegenerative diseases and discovered a gene mutation that causes Alzheimer’s, Helen Hobbs, explores the impact of cholesterol in the body and to develop drugs that reduce its level in the body and thus prevent the development of heart attack, as well as Svante Paabo, a geneticist, deciphered the genome of a Neanderthal. Svante Paabo The achievements of “Times” also told more than once: in particular, thanks to his work on genome sequencing has become clear that
Separation of Neanderthals and modern humans occurred about 660 thousand years ago, , and before disappearing off the face of the Earth – about 40 thousand. years ago – Neanderthals lived in parallel with the people of the modern type and even mated with them.
Svante Paabo participated in the sequencing of the genome “denisovan”, whose remains were found in the Altai, – in 2012, the work has been completed .
Physics: immediately 1 3 thousand. laureates
The award in the field of fundamental physics will be awarded to five Research groups involved in the study of neutrino oscillations, and it will receive a total of 1.3 thousand. people. This year, to experimentally confirm the existence of neutrino oscillations, scientists Arthur McDonald and Takaaki Kadzita already received the Nobel Prize in physics,
However, the Committee Breakthrough Prize considered that it is a merit far greater number of people. The leaders of award winning research groups are Arthur McDonald, and Yushiro Kadzita Takaaki Suzuki, Koichiro Nishikawa, Atsuto Suzuki, and Yifan Wang Kam-Beau and Luke.
Among the 1.3 thousand. Scientists there are laureates of Russian for example graduate MIPT Vladimir Novikov , a member of the collaboration SNO.
Mathematics: bagel plus one dimension
Laureate “Award for breakthrough” in mathematics began Ian Agol studying three-dimensional manifolds.
is a one-dimensional manifold, for example, a circle. Two-dimensional manifolds – donut or a sphere. Ian Agol also engaged in three-dimensional manifolds and, in fact, closed all the questions that were mathematicians associated with three-dimensional topology. This happened in 2004. Agol results, in particular, in high demand in physics.
The amount of the award in the field of physics and mathematics and will make $ 3 million – though in the case of physicists, it will be divided at all 1,3 thousand people, then have for each accounting for $ 2.3 thousand.
«Breakthrough Prize Laureates have made fundamental discoveries related to the universe, life and our consciousness. These areas of research are the progress at an exponential rate, but major questions remain unanswered, “- said Yuri Milner during a ceremony held at the Ames Research Center at NASA’s Silicon Valley.
Further information about the list of awardees available on the site of the award.
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