Key Messages
The Story of J. Craig Venter: From Shark Attack Survivor to Deciphering the Human Genome
J.
Craig Venter is one of the greatest scientists of this century.
His accomplishment in deciphering the human genome is one of the biggest scientific achievements in modern times.
But what makes a person take on such an immense task? How did he become so ambitious and motivated?
In A Life Decoded, learn more about Venter’s life journey – from his childhood of creativity, to his rebellious attitude, and meteoric rise within the scientific community.
Discover how a shark attack saved his life, why quickly identifying human genes became controversial, and even which thrilling aquatic task Venter took on after deciphering the human genome!
If you want to know more about the life and amazing accomplishments of J.
Craig Venter, look no further than A Life Decoded.
J. Craig Venter’s Early Adulthood Shaped by Risk-Taking and a Love for Creation
When he was growing up, J.
Craig Venter found that he had a love of taking risks and challenging himself.
This desire for adventure took him on various escapades, such as racing airplanes on the runway with his friends at San Francisco International Airport.
His passion for building and constructing things also presented itself in woodworking classes – instead of making furniture, he built intricate hydroplanes, motorboats and even an electronic score board for his junior high school baseball field!
He continually pushed himself to his limits, whether it be the physical challenge of beating an airplane’s speed or learning and mastering more complex construction projects.
This early curiosity in exploration and creativity is something that still marks him today – as his work developing genome sciences has shown.
The Impact of Vietnam War on Craig Venter’s Scientific Drive: How Seeing the Fragility of Life Inspired a Pursuit to Understand Its Essence
As a 20-year-old man in 1967, Venter was almost forced to serve in the Vietnam War.
Fortunately, he scored well on an IQ test and was allowed to become a hospital corpsman instead – which ultimately saved his life.
In his medical training as a hospital corpsman in Da Nang, Vietnam, Venter looked after victims of mines and napalm victims, treated diseases such as malaria and venereal diseases, manned the infectious disease clinic AND took care of children at an orphanage.
Through it all, he gained invaluable experience in the medical field but also saw the fragility of life up close.
For Venter, this changed his life forever.
Witnessing hundreds of soldiers die had a profound effect on him that eventually led him to attempt suicide by swimming out into the ocean until he was exhausted – only to be saved by a shark!
This experience has formed the foundation for Venter’s scientific journey since then: his pursuit to understand life itself.
The Life-Changing Power of Education: Craig Venter’s Inspiring Journey
When Venter started college at the University of California, San Diego, he was determined to make up for his lackluster academic record.
His hard work paid off – he quickly earned straight As in each semester and caught the attention of Nathan O Kaplan, a distinguished biochemist.
Armed with Kaplan’s endorsement of his research project studying adrenaline, Venter submitted a paper on his findings to Proceedings of the National Academy of Science while still an undergraduate student.
His success continued during his doctoral years with eleven more scholarly papers published in quality journals and completing his PhD in biochemistry in 1975.
All this caught the eye and approval of some of the leading scientists such as Carl and Gerty Cori or William McElroy among others and put Venter securely within the scientific community.
Venter’s impressive achievements at the University of California eventually led to him embarking on a meteoric scientific career where he has made numerous groundbreaking contributions over decades – from mapping the human genome to championing personalized medicine – much like predicted by those who knew him since he was an undergraduate student.
CRAIG VENTER, FROM NIH RESEARCHER TO GENOMICS PIONEER: How a Rejected Junior Faculty Position Led to the Decoding of the Human Genome
When Venter moved to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in 1983, it started a new chapter in his life, as well as a shift into molecular biology and the field of genomics.
Given a massive budget, as well as access to endless resources and some of the nation’s top researchers, Venter was able to write his first molecular biology paper while at NIH.
This is when Venter first encountered the idea of decoding the entire human genome and he immediately found himself drawn to it.
Decoding a gene means determining its exact chemical components and this is something that would take about a decade for one single adrenaline receptor gene of what was estimated at 100,000 human genes!
Back then it seemed impossible but Venter was motivated by the thought of having such an extensive database showing all sequences of every human gene.
Controversy Over J. Craig Venter’s Attempt to Patent Human Genes
When J.
Craig Venter attempted to patent newly identified genes as part of his work with the NIH, he became a very controversial figure in the scientific community.
Although he felt that his approach was extremely valuable for gene discovery and understanding of the human genome, many disagreed and accused him of attempting to “wholesale patent” human genes, something which most believed should not happen.
Facing criticism from the scientific community and feeling insufficient support for his research efforts, Venter decided to leave the NIH in 1992 and continue his research at a private institute.
He received funding from Human Genome Sciences (HGS) so that he could establish The Institute for Genomic Research (TIGR), which he hoped would further his research goals without restrictions from government bureaucracy.
However, other researchers were wary of this move as it opened up possibilities for private investors to own and control access to the rights of the human genome.
Craig Venter’s Decoding of the Human Genome Reflects His Tenacity and Determination
Craig Venter was a pioneer in genomic research, and he made history when he became the first to decode the genome of a living species.
In 1995, utilizing a new method called “shotgun sequencing” which broke up the genome into thousands of fragments for easier analysis, Venter successfully decoded the entire H.influenzae genome.
It was an incredible achievement that led to conflicts with Human Genome Sciences (HGS), who wanted ownership over his work.
But it didn’t stop him — soon after, Venter was approached to establish Celera, a subsidiary of PerkinElmer whose primary purpose was to produce a high-quality database of the human genome.
This was groundbreaking work; Celera eventually went on to compete with the publicly-financed Human Genome Project in its effort to decode our own DNA.
And in 2000, both groups announced success: they had broken through and deciphered the entire human genome — with Craig Venter at the very center of this amazing breakthrough.
After the Triumph: Craig Venter Sets a New Course for Science
On June 26th, 2000, Craig Venter and Francis Collins of the Human Genome Project announced the deciphering of the entire human genome at the White House.
It was a remarkable feat that garnered much recognition in the scientific community, with Venter and his team receiving numerous awards and honorary degrees from top universities around the world.
Venter also received prestigious awards like the King Faisal International Prize for Science, Paul Ehrlich and Ludwig Darmstaedter Prize, World Health Award from former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev, Takeda Award from Japan and Gairdner Award from Canada.
These awards are testament to Venter’s groundbreaking research in deciphering the human genome.
J. Craig Venter Seeks Solutions Through Genomics and Synthetic Biology to Heal the Oceans and Fight Climate Change
J.
Craig Venter has turned his attention to a project which combines two of his great loves: science and sailing.
As he seeks a new purpose, Venter aims to decipher the genetic codes of the ocean, researching the effects of climate change and ocean acidification.
By taking samples from seawater, he has discovered tens of thousands of new species and over 1.3 million new genes in only 200 liters of surface seawater.
But it doesn’t end there – Venter is also devoted to pushing forward with the creation of synthetic organisms.
Could these inventions be designed to act as natural emission-control systems, soaking up carbon dioxide? Or to alter the atmosphere with microbes and their biochemistry? Through his research institute – The J.
Craig Venter Institute with over 500 scientists staff and an annual budget exceeding $70 million – these questions can become reality.
Wrap Up
At the end of his book, J.
Craig Venter’s key message is simply this: keep your natural curiosity alive and follow it!
His life is a perfect example of what you can accomplish if you allow yourself to be driven by your curiosity.
As a child, Venter was curious as to whether he could race airplanes or build a functioning hydroplane.
Similarly, during his career as a scientist he was motivated by his curiosity to decode the human genome and better understand the very essence of life.
That’s why Venter urges readers to not be discouraged by those that try to keep their thinking inside the box.
Instead, let your curiosity guide you and see where it takes you – just like it took Venter on an amazing journey culminating in one of science’s greatest achievements: decoding the human genome!
