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SETI Search For Alien Life To Get Boost From $100 Million Exploration Project Backed By Russian Billionaire

BERKELEY (CBS SF) - A Russian billionaire is jump-starting the search for extra-terrestrial intelligence with a massive grant.

The $100 million donation, announced Monday in London, will bankroll the most comprehensive search ever for signs of intelligent life in outer space.

The donor, Yuri Milner, got rich with investments in Internet companies like Facebook.

His project "Breakthrough Listen" is being called a "dream come true" by scientists at the SETI Research Center in Berkeley, where the cash will buy extra observation time at two powerful radio-telescopes and plenty of specialized electronics to analyze data at Berkeley and elsewhere.

The data that's generated will be made available to the public on an "open-source" model, according to Cal researchers.

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