Zuckerberg and Chan to invest $3bn to cure and prevent diseases

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan have pledged to invest $3bn in the next 10 years in an attempt to rid the world of disease.

The couple's Chan Zuckerberg Initiative will use the money for advancing technology to be used in combating cancer, heart disease and neurological diseases.

In a presentation from the pair at the University of California, San Francisco, Zuckerberg begged the question over whether all disease could be taken on.

"Can we cure, prevent or manage all disease by the end of this century?" he asked.

Chan made the pledge to invest the sum in order to aid transformational technology.

"Our aim is to bring together teams of innovative scientists and engineers to build transformational tools that unlock a new era of accelerative progress in scienche and health," Chan explained. "For this initiative we'll be investing more than $3bn over the next decade to achieve our collective mission."

Last December Zuckerberg and Chan vowed to give away 99% of the wealth gained from their Facebook stock for charitable purposes, through the Chan Zuckerberg initiative. They made the announcement after the birth of their first child Max.

Both acknowledged the ambitious nature of the project, and said that it would not be an easy objective to achieve. "It's a big goal," admitted Zuckerberg.

"By investing in science today, we hope to build a future in which all of our children can live long and rewarding lives," Chan added.