The X-Prize

First proposed in 1995 at a conference on Space Development, the X-Prize was this: USD$10,000,000 to the first non-government agency to develop and launch a reusable manned spacecraft twice within two weeks. The prize was won on October 4th, 2004 by Tier One who developed the SpaceShipOne.

The foundation that started it all, The X-Prize Foundation, is focusing their attention on the world of genomics. A new prize of USD$5,000,000 to $20,000,000 will go to the team that can completely decode the genomes of 100 people in a matter of weeks.

This foundation, with this prize, has always had in mind the advancement of technology through economic incentives. Offering several million dollars to the team that wins is huge, and should happen more often. If you want to be really technical, then you might say it already does. In the form of grants, researchers are able to complete the work they hope will make them famous. Companies, foundations, and wealthy philanthropists are subject to hundreds of grant proposals, but only a limited number of proposals are granted.

It's good to see that someone with money is doing something positive with it, instead of say, buying islands. The incentive is so strong that this kind of work might actually get us further than Venter or the Human Genome Project ever dreamed of. Kudos to The X-Prize Foundation for endeavouring to advance scientific knowledge.