He died at 79 years old the American scientist and entrepreneur in San Diego J. Craig Venter due to a recently diagnosed cancer. Central figure of contemporary biology, Venter was the founder of Celera Genomics and one of the key names in the race to sequencing of the human genome. His career has intertwined research and business, radically transforming the way science approaches the study of DNA. One of their protagonists disappears with him made it possible to read the human genetic code on a large scalemarking a decisive turning point for modern medicine.
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The challenge to the Human Genome Project and the race against time
At the end of the 90s Venter established himself as a voice outside the chorus compared to the gigantic Human Genome Projectfunded by the US government. The public project, from approx 3 billion dollarsproceeded with a methodical but slow approach. Venter reversed the perspective: with his company Celera he focused on a faster method, the shotgun sequencingcapable of accelerating the reading of DNA. The competition between public and private turned into a scientific race which led, in 2000, to the publication of the first draft of the human genome. Despite controversies and overlapping results, Venter’s challenge pushed the entire sector to accelerate, contributing to the genetic map that today is the basis of biomedical research.
From genomics to artificial life
Venter’s journey did not stop at the human genome. In 2010 he led an experiment that made history: the creation of the first synthetic cellobtained by replacing the DNA of a bacterium with a genome designed in the laboratory. The resulting organism began to replicate, opening profound questions about the very definition of life. Also founder of J. Craig Venter Institutethe scientist contributed to the study of the microbiomeinfectious diseases and genetic diversity in the oceans. Already in the 1980s he had introduced the expressed sequences (EST)accelerating gene identification.
A legacy between science and technological revolution
Author of over 280 publications, Venter has received numerous international awards, including the National Medal of Science. His scientific legacy extends from genomics to synthetic biology, up to modern models of personalized medicine. A controversial but decisive figure, he changed the relationship between technology and biology, transforming DNA from a mysterious code into a readable and, in part, designable system.
