Scientists share US$36m worth of prizes

New York

WHO knew there was so much money in dark energy?

Two teams of astronomers who discovered that the universe is apparently being blown apart by a mysterious something called dark energy had already shared a Nobel Prize and the US$1 million Shaw Prize, among other honours. Now they have won the richest science prize of all.

On Sunday night they were handed the US$3 million Fundamental Physics Prize, an award established by the Russian Internet investor and philanthropist Yuri Milner in a quest to make science as glitzy as rock 'n' roll.

The award to the astronomers is part of the 2015 Breakthrough Prizes, 12 in all, totalling US$36 million, announced on Sunday night at a black-tie gala in Mountain View, California, hosted by Seth MacFarlane. In addition to the physics prize, six scientists were awarded Life Sciences Prizes for work on such topics as the regulation o…