How Mark Zuckerberg plans to 'tackle all disease' by 2100
Facebook founder and wife Priscilla Chan announce ambitious ten-year, $3bn investment into medical research

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan, have announced a ten-year, $3bn (£2.3bn) medical research fund, designed to "cure, prevent or manage all diseases by the end of the century".
The couple unveiled the ambitious plan at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), during an event for the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, the philanthropic group they launched in December 2015, when they revealed plans to give away 99 per cent of their shares in Facebook.
Chan, a paediatrician, "spoke through tears as she recalled telling parents their child had an incurable disease or could not be revived", USA Today reports.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
One of the initiative's largest investments will be a £462m "Biohub" located at the UCSF.
The centre will "bring together scientists and engineers from Stanford, Berkeley and UCSF – who haven't collaborated in this way before – to develop tools to treat diseases", The Guardian says.
Projects already slated for investigation include the Cell Atlas, "a 'map' that describes the different types of cells that control the body's major organs", reports the BBC, and the Infectious Disease Initiative, which will "try to develop new tests and vaccines to tackle HIV, Ebola, Zika and other new diseases", adds the broadcaster.
The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative announcement follows others from tech firms planning to invest in the health sector.
Microsoft announced this week it would be trying to "solve cancer" using new tech-based research strategies at its lab in Cambridge. IBM and MIT have also revealed a partnership to develop an artificial intelligence approach to help in the care of elderly and disabled patients.
LIVE
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Today's political cartoons - March 8, 2025
Cartoons Saturday's cartoons - trade wars, healthcare costs, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Marbled tea eggs recipe
The Week Recommends With a beautiful exterior, these eggs are also marked by their soft yolk
By The Week UK Published
-
The Washington Post: kowtowing to Trump?
Talking Point The newspaper's opinion editor has handed in his notice following edict from Jeff Bezos
By The Week UK Published
-
Why are more young people getting bowel cancer?
The Explainer Alarming rise in bowel-cancer diagnoses in under-50s is puzzling scientists
By Elizabeth Carr-Ellis, The Week UK Published
-
Five medical breakthroughs of 2024
The Explainer The year's new discoveries for health conditions that affect millions
By Adrienne Wyper, The Week UK Published
-
Covid might be to blame for an uptick in rare cancers
The explainer The virus may be making us more susceptible to certain cancers
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published
-
The alarming rise of cancer in young people
Under the radar Cancer rates are rising, and the cause is not clear
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published
-
US bans final type of asbestos
Speed Read Exposure to asbestos causes about 40,000 deaths in the U.S. each year
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
'Beyond belief': fears of asbestos return
Under the radar Attention is returning to the dangers of the carcinogenic substance
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
What to say to someone who has cancer
The Explainer Saying something is better than nothing but there are some things to avoid too
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Anastrozole: the daily breast cancer pill tipped to save thousands of lives
The Explainer Existing treatment approved for preventative use under 'pioneering' NHS drug repurposing scheme
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published