DNA: The Software of Life

J. Craig Venter

BIO
J. Craig Venter, Ph.D., is a biologist renowned for his contributions in sequencing the first draft human genome in 2001, the first complete diploid human genome in 2007 and construction of the first synthetic bacterial cell in 2010. He is founder, chairman and CEO of the J. Craig Venter Institute (JCVI). He is also a co-founder and CEO of Synthetic Genomics Inc (SGI), a privately held company focused on developing products and solutions using synthetic genomic technologies; and a co-founder and CEO of Human Longevity Inc (HLI), a privately held genomics and cell therapy-based diagnostic and therapeutic company focused on extending the healthy, high performance human life span. He and his teams are focused on a variety of projects and programs including: 

• synthetic genomic research and the application of these advances to develop new vaccines and food and nutritional products, new biofuels and biochemicals; 
• continued analysis of the human genome including the human microbiome, and discovering and understanding genetic diversity in the world's oceans. 

Dr. Venter is a recipient of the 2008 National Medal of Science and is a member of the National Academy of Sciences. He is the author of "Life at the Speed of Light: From the Double Helix to the Dawn of Digital Life" (Viking, 2013) and "A Life Decoded: My Genome: My Life" (Viking, 2007).


ORIGINAL: Zeitgeist Minds