"The British government will offer PS1,000,000 to anyone who can solve the world's biggest problem--whatever it might be," said Prime Minister  David Cameron at a science conference. In an unusual competition, the Government will ask people to find out the greatest challenge  today, such as finding a replacement  for oil, producing low cost food or curing AIDS/HIV. When the toughest problem has been decided, the Prime Minister will give away PS1,000,000 to the person who successfully works out the answer. The competition follows the example of the Longitude Prize started by the government in 1714, which offered PS20,000 (worth PS6,000,000 today) to anyone who could discover how far east or west ships had sailed. Sailors could work out their location north and south, and were able to decide their local time from the sun. However, they needed to know the time at a reference  point in order to find out how far they had travelled east or west. Many people thought the problem was impossible to solve, but the prize was finally won by John Harrison, an ordinary worker. He did this by designing a clock that kept accurate  time at sea and made it possible for sailors to work out their location.        Almost exactly 300 years on, Mr Cameron will have a group of scientists collect suggestions and draw up a short list of problems facing the world. He will then start a race to solve the most difficult problem. A government officer said, "We want people to think big: what does the world need and how can we achieve that? We are looking for the next penicillin , airplane or World Wide Web. Something that is going to really change what we do and how we live our lives--sending us ahead in the global race. "According to Mr Cameron, it is important to "encourage new ideas" and "attract back the best and the brightest" to Britain. The British government promises PS1,000,000 to any person who .
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