And the winner is… Antibiotics

Written by Lord Martin Rees

Over the last month, there has been much debate about the merits of the six Longitude Prize challenges, and now the public has spoken, choosing Antibiotics as the challenge they most want solved.

As the Chair of the reformed Longitude Committee, it has been wonderful to see so many people engaging with the science behind the challenges – whether online or in our nation’s classrooms.

I hope that the Longitude Prize can inspire both exciting new technologies and exciting new scientists – the engagement we have seen so far would suggest we are on a strong path to achieve both ambitions.

With the challenge selected, the Longitude Committee must now refine the details of a Longitude Prize for Antibiotics. By the autumn, we will have a firm goal that will explain exactly what you will need to do to win the prize.

Our aim must be to find genuine breakthroughs that are credibly achievable within the five-year timeframe – breakthroughs to help solve one of the greatest issues of our time.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who voted and campaigned for the challenges, and would ask you all to sharpen both your pencils and your minds, ready for the task ahead. The Antibiotics challenge requires a radical and truly innovative solution – how will you solve it?

This blog was originally published on the Nesta website, read the original post.