Craig Venter 7550 225524708 2008-07-14T03:46:19Z Rjwilmsi 203434 no 'of' between a month and a year per [[Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style_%28dates_and_numbers%29#Longer_periods|MOS]] using [[Project:AutoWikiBrowser|AWB]] {{Infobox_Scientist |name = J. Craig Venter |image = Craigventer2.jpg |imagesize = |caption = Craig Venter in 2007 |birth_date = {{birth date and age|1946|10|14|mf=y}} |birth_place = [[Salt Lake City]], [[Utah]], [[United States|USA]] |alma_mater = [[University of California, San Diego]] |work_institution = [[University at Buffalo, The State University of New York|State University of New York at Buffalo]] <br/> [[National Institutes of Health]] <br/> [[J. Craig Venter Institute]] |occupation = [[Biologist]] and [[businessman]] |known_for = [[DNA]], [[human genome]], and [[metagenomics]] |website = [http://www.jcvi.org/ J. Craig Venter Institute] }} '''J. Craig Venter''' (born '''John Craig Venter''' [[October 14]], [[1946]], [[Salt Lake City, Utah]]) is an [[United States|American]] [[biologist]], and businessman.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.usnews.com/usnews/news/articles/051031/31genome.htm |title = The Blueprint Of Life |first = Jamie|last= Shreeve |accessdaymonth = 6 December|accessyear = 2007|date=2005-10-31}}</ref> Venter founded [[The Institute for Genomic Research]] and was instrumental in mapping the [[human genome]].<ref>[http://www.babs.unsw.edu.au/news/venter.html Craig Venter meets with BABS Students] University of New South Wales (18 March 2005)</ref> He was listed on [[Time (magazine)|Time Magazine's]] 2007 and 2008 [[Time 100]] list of the most influential people in the world. ==Biography== Venter is an ex-surfer and a Vietnam war veteran. According to Time, it was not always evident that he would become a transformative figure, particularly when he was a boy; according to his biography, ''A Life Decoded'', he was said to be never a terribly engaged student, having Cs and Ds in his eighth grade report cards.<ref>Time, February 4, 2008.</ref> He enlisted in the [[United States Navy]] and served a tour of duty during the [[Vietnam War]]. While in Vietnam, he attempted to commit [[suicide]] by swimming out to sea, but changed his mind more than a mile out.<ref>{{Citation |last = |first = |author-link = |last2 = |first2 = |author2-link = |title = Vietnam, sea snakes and a suicide bid |newspaper = The Guardian |pages = |year = 2007 |date=October 9, 2007 |url = http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2007/oct/09/genetics.scienceandnature}}</ref><ref>{{Citation |last = Howse |first = Christopher |author-link = |last2 = |first2 = |author2-link = |title = Swimming back to life again |newspaper = UK Telegraph |pages = |year = 2007 |date=October 23, 2007 |url = http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/ukcorrespondents/christopherhowse/oct07/swimming-back-to-life.htm}}</ref> Venter began his academic career at a [[community college]], [[College of San Mateo]] in [[California]]. He received his [[bachelor's degree]] in [[biochemistry]] in 1972, and his [[Doctor of Philosophy|Ph.D.]] in [[physiology]] and [[pharmacology]] in 1975 &mdash; both from the [[University of California, San Diego]]. In [[San Diego]], he married former Ph.D. candidate, Barbara Rae.<ref>[http://www.rae-venterlaw.com/who.htm Rae-Venter Law Group<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref><ref name = "abfamb">[http://www.smh.com.au/news/science/the-god-of-small-things/2007/01/25/1169594430068.html?page=fullpage The god of small things - Science - Specials - smh.com.au<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> After working as a professor at the [[University at Buffalo, The State University of New York|State University of New York at Buffalo]], he joined the [[National Institutes of Health]] in 1984. In Buffalo, he divorced Dr. Rae-Venter and married his student, [[Claire M. Fraser]],<ref name = "abfamb"/> and remained married to Ms. Fraser until 2005.<ref>[http://npg.nature.com/nm/journal/v13/n5/full/nm1594.html High-profile departure ends genome institute's charmed run], M. Wadman, ''Nature Medicine'' 13, 518 (2007).</ref> While at NIH, Venter learned of a technique for rapidly identifying all of the [[mRNA]]s present in a cell, and began to use it to identify human brain genes. The short [[Complementary DNA|cDNA]] sequence fragments discovered by this method are called [[expressed sequence tag]]s, or ESTs, a name coined by Anthony Kerlavage at [[The Institute for Genomic Research]]. In a controversial court case, Venter tried to patent these gene fragments and lost the case.<ref>''In re Fisher'', 421 F.3d 1365 (2005).</ref> ===Human Genome Project=== He was the former president and founder of [[Celera Genomics]], which became famous for running a parallel version of the [[Human Genome Project]] of its own for commercial purposes, using [[shotgun sequencing]] technology in 1999. The method was blasted by the international genetics community who derided it as unfeasible. The aim of the Celera project was to create a database of genomic data that users could subscribe to for a fee. This proved very unpopular in the genetics community and spurred several groups to redouble their efforts to produce the full sequence and release it as open access. At the same time, the HGP consortium applied political pressure to appropriate the shotgun technology and the collected data from Venter's company. There were also concerns that Venter might shatter what was supposed to be an "international" face on a landmark event in history. [[DNA]] from 5 individuals was used by Celera to generate the sequence of the human genome; one of the 5 individuals used in this project was Venter. In the end, Celera Genomics submitted to the pressure and shared its data and the credit for sequencing of the human genome with the international consortium of the Human Genome Project, which was composed of many groups from around the world.<ref name="spufford">{{ cite book |publisher=Faber |first=Francis |last=Spufford |title=Backroom Boys |origyear=2003 }}</ref> After his inability to collect royalties for the Human Genome, Venter was fired by Celera in early 2002.<ref>Antonio Regalo, "Maverick biologist at work on next goal: creating life", Seattle Times, July 24, 2005.</ref> Venter resisted efforts by the company board to change the strategic direction of the company. Despite their differing motivations, Venter and rival scientist [[Francis Collins (geneticist)|Francis Collins]] of the [[National Institute of Health]] jointly made the announcement of the mapping of the human genome in 2000, along with [[President of the United States|US President]] [[Bill Clinton]].<ref name="blueprint">Jamie Shreeve, "[http://www.usnews.com/usnews/news/articles/051031/31genome.htm The Blueprint of Life]," ''[[U.S. News and World Report]]'', 10/31/05, URL accessed 30 January 2007.</ref> Venter and Collins thus shared an award for "Biography of the Year" from [[A&E Network]].<ref name="montgomery">"[http://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/mc/news/press/00-463.html Montgomery County, Maryland, Press Releases]," December 19, 2000, URL accessed 30 January 2007.</ref> ===Current work=== Venter founded [[The Institute for Genomic Research]] (TIGR) in 1992. He is currently the president of the [[J. Craig Venter Institute]], created and funded by TIGR's board (which Venter chairs). In June 2005, he co-founded [[Synthetic Genomics]], a firm dedicated to using modified [[microorganisms]] to produce [[ethanol]] and [[hydrogen]] as [[alternative fuel]]s. He used his [[sloop]], ''Sorcerer II'', in the [[Global Ocean Sampling Expedition]] to help assess [[genetic diversity]] in marine microbial communities.<ref name="for sale">{{cite news |url=http://www.genomeweb.com/issues/news/141991-1.html |title=Yacht for Sale: Suited for Sailing, Surfing, and Seaborne Metagenomics |work=GenomeWeb.com |publisher=GenomeWeb News |author=Larkman, Kirell |date=[[September 7]] [[2007]] |accessdate=2007-09-07}}</ref> ===Media coverage=== Venter has been the subject of articles in several magazines, notably ''[[Wired magazine|Wired]]'',<ref name="wired">Shreeve, James. "[http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/12.08/venter.html Craig Venter's Epic Voyage to Redefine the Origin of the Species]," ''[[Wired magazine|Wired]]'', August 2004. Accessed [[June 7]], [[2007]].</ref> ''[[The Economist]]'',<ref name="economist">"The Journey of the Sorcerer", ''[[The Economist]]'', [[December 4]], [[2004]].</ref> Australian science magazine [[Cosmos (magazine)|Cosmos]],<ref>[http://www.cosmosmagazine.com/node/1561 First individual person's genome decoded] - Cosmos Magazine. September 4, 2007.</ref><ref>[http://www.cosmosmagazine.com/node/1642 Geneticists on verge of creating artificial life] - Cosmos Magazine. October 8, 2007.</ref> and [[Atlantic Monthly]].<ref name="atlantic_monthly">Douthat, Ross. "The God of Small Things," ''[[Atlantic Monthly]]'', Jan/Feb 2007.</ref> Additionally, he was featured on [[The Colbert Report]] on both [[February 27]], [[2007]], and [[October 30]], [[2007]]. Venter appeared in the "Evolution" episode of the documentary television series ''[[Understanding (TV series)|Understanding]]''. On [[May 10]], 2007, Venter was awarded an honorary doctorate from [[Arizona State University]].<ref name="asu">Aufrett, Sarah. [http://www.asu.edu/news/stories/200705/20070511_grad.htm "ASU Celebrates Spring Graduates"], ''ASU Insight'', [[May 11]], 2007. Accessed [[June 7]], 2007.</ref> He was on the 2007 [[Time 100]] most influential people in the world list made by Time magazine. On [[September 4]], [[2007]], a team led by Venter published the first complete (six-billion-letter) [[genome]] of an individual human &mdash; Venter's own DNA sequence.<ref name=PloS_VG /> On BBC News on [[October 22]], [[2007]], when asked about his religious view he replied that he thought that a true scientist could not believe in supernatural explanations. On [[December 4]], [[2007]], Venter gave the [[Richard Dimbleby Lecture|Dimbleby lecture]] for the BBC in London. He outlined his current work and future developments in genetics. In February 2008, he gave speech about his current work at the TED conference. The video can be seen online.<ref>[http://www.ted.com/talks/view/id/227 TED | Talks | Craig Venter: On the verge of creating synthetic life (video)<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> ==Individual human genome sequenced== On [[September 4]], [[2007]], a team led by Sam Levy published the first complete (six-billion-letter) [[genome]] of an individual human &mdash; Venter's own DNA sequence.<ref name=PloS_VG>{{cite journal|journal=PLoS Biology|year=2007|volume=5|issue=10|title=The Diploid Genome Sequence of an Individual Human|author=Levy S, Sutton G, Ng PC, Feuk L, Halpern AL, et al.|url=http://biology.plosjournals.org/perlserv/?request=get-document&doi=10.1371/journal.pbio.0050254 | doi = 10.1371/journal.pbio.0050254 <!--Retrieved from URL by DOI bot-->}}</ref> Some of the sequences in Venter's genome are associated with wet earwax,<ref>[http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/dispomim.cgi?id=117800 Omim - Ear Wax, Wet/Dry<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> increased risk of antisocial behavior, Alzheimer's and cardiovascular diseases.<ref>{{cite book|title=A Life Decoded|author=Venter, J.C.|isbn=978-0-670-06358-1|date=2007}}</ref> This publication was especially interesting since it contained a [[diploid]] instead of a [[haploid]] genome and shows promise for personalized medicine via [[genotyping]]. The Human Reference (HuRef) Genome Browser is a Web application (http://huref.jcvi.org) for the navigation and analysis of the Venter's recently published genome. The HuRef database consists of approximately 32 million DNA reads sequenced using Sanger methods, assembled into 4,528 scaffolds and 4.1 million DNA variations identified by genome analysis. These variants include Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs), block substitutions, short and large indels, structural variants like insertion, deletions, inversions and copy number changes. The browser enables scientists to navigate the HuRef genome assembly and sequence variations, and to compare it with the NCBI human build 36 assembly in the context of the [[NCBI]] and [[Ensembl]] annotations. The browser provides a comparative view between NCBI and HuRef consensus sequences, the sequence multi-alignment of the HuRef assembly, Ensembl and dbSNP annotations, HuRef variants, and the underlying variant evidence and functional analysis. The interface also represents the haplotype blocks from which diploid genome sequence can be inferred and the relation of variants to gene annotations. The display of variants and gene annotations are linked to external public resources including [[dbSNP]], [[Ensembl]] , Online [[Mendelian Inheritance in Man]] (OMIM) and [[Gene Ontology]] (GO). Users can search the HuRef genome using HUGO gene names, Ensembl and dbSNP identifiers, HuRef contig or scaffold locations, or NCBI chromosome locations. Users can then easily and quickly browse any genomic region via the simple and intuitive pan and zoom controls; furthermore relevant data in specific loci can be exported for further analysis. ==Mycoplasma laboratorium== Venter is seeking to patent the first life-form created by humanity, possibly to be named ''[[Mycoplasma laboratorium]]''.<ref>[http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/05180/530330.stm Biologist Venter aims to create life from scratch<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> There is speculation that this line of research could lead to producing bacteria that have been engineered to perform specific reactions, e.g. produce fuels, make medicines, combat global warming, etc.<ref>[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/06/08/nbiofuel108.xml Man-made microbe 'to create endless biofuel' - Telegraph<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> ==New Scientist Interview== In a recent interview with ''[[New Scientist]]'' when asked "Assuming you can make [[Synthetic life|synthetic bacteria]], what will you do with them?", Venter replied {{bquote|Over the next 20 years, synthetic genomics is going to become the standard for making anything. The chemical industry will depend on it. Hopefully, a large part of the energy industry will depend on it. We really need to find an alternative to taking carbon out of the ground, burning it, and putting it into the atmosphere. That is the single biggest contribution I could make.}} Furthermore it suggests that one of the main purposes for creating synthetic bacteria would be to reduce the dependence on fossil fuels.<ref>''[[New Scientist]]'' Issue 2626 Pg 57</ref> ==Further reading== *Ridley, M ''Genome'', ISBN 0-06-089408-3 *Shreeve, J ''The Genome War'', ISBN 0-375-40629-8 *Spufford, F ''Backroom Boys'', ISBN 0-571-21497-5 *Sulston, J & Ferry, G ''The Common Thread'', ISBN 0-309-08409-1 *Venter, J C ''A Life Decoded. My Genome: My Life'', ISBN 978-0-670-06358-1 ==Footnotes== {{reflist}} ==See also== {{portal|United States Navy|United States Department of the Navy Seal.svg}} ==References== *[http://www.pbs.org/kcet/wiredscience/video/289-craig_venter.html Craig Venter interview] - [[Wired Science]], December 2007 (video) *[http://philosophytalk.org/pastShows/Genomics.html Radio interview] on [[Philosophy talk|Philosophy Talk]] *[http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2007/oct/08/genetics.scienceandnature Cracking the code to life] *[http://bloggingheads.tv/video.php?id=431 Video interview of Venter] on [[BloggingHeads.tv]] ==External links== {{Wikinews|US scientist says he created first 'artificial life form'}} *[http://www.venterinstitute.org/ J. Craig Venter Institute] *[http://www.sorcerer2expedition.org/ Sorcerer II Expedition] *[http://www.syntheticgenomics.com/ Synthetic Genomics] *[http://www.tigr.org/ The Institute for Genomic Research (TIGR)] *[http://www.21school.ox.ac.uk/video/200710_venter.cfm Webcast of Venter talk 'Genomics: From humans to the environment'] at [[the James Martin 21st century School]] *[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E5X6Qy772YU Craig Venter: A voyage of DNA, genes and the sea] - [[TED (conference)|TED (Technology Entertainment Design) conference]] (video) *[http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=4893602463025557866 The Richard Dimbleby Lecture 2007 - Dr. J. Craig Venter - A DNA Driven World] *[http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/view/id/227 TedTalks: Craig Venter: On the verge of creating synthetic life, February 2008] <!-- Metadata: see [[Wikipedia:Persondata]] --> <!-- [[Category:American atheists]] --> {{Persondata |NAME= Venter, Craig |ALTERNATIVE NAMES=Venter, John Craig |SHORT DESCRIPTION= American [[biologist]] |DATE OF BIRTH= [[October 14]], [[1946]] |PLACE OF BIRTH= [[Salt Lake City]] |DATE OF DEATH= |PLACE OF DEATH= }} {{DEFAULTSORT:Venter, Craig}} [[Category:1946 births]] [[Category:Members of the National Academy of Sciences]] [[Category:American biologists]] [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:Transhumanists]] [[Category:United States Navy sailors]] [[Category:University of California, San Diego alumni]] [[Category:American military personnel of the Vietnam War]] [[Category:American geneticists]] [[Category:Gentleman scientists]] [[ca:John Craig Venter]] [[de:Craig Venter]] [[es:Craig Venter]] [[fr:Craig Venter]] [[it:Craig Venter]] [[ku:Craig Venter]] [[pl:Craig Venter]] [[ru:Вентер, Крейг]] [[fi:Craig Venter]] [[sv:Craig Venter]] [[tr:Craig Venter]] [[zh:克萊格·凡特]]