J. Craig Venter obituary: maverick biotechnologist who sequenced the human genome

Credit: K.C. Alfred/U-T San Diego/ZUMA Wire/Alamy On 26 June 2000, J. Craig Venter accompanied then US president Bill Clinton and geneticist Francis Collins, leader of the Human Genome Project (HGP), into the East Room of the White House to celebrate the completion of the first draft of the human genome. The cordiality on show belied the fierce ‘genome wars’ that had been ongoing since Venter announced his ambition to launch a commercial competitor to the publicly funded, international HGP. He has died, aged 79. Venter was involved in many other genomics milestones, including the first published bacterial genome in 1995, the first individual diploid human genome sequence in 2007 and the first synthetic cell in 2010. Many people thought of Venter as an innovative scientist and entrepreneur, demonstrating the power of capitalism. But for others, he became public enemy number one, sometimes called Darth Venter, intent on patenting genomic data for commercial gain. Genome pioneer Craig Venter dies: here’s how he transformed science Venter was born in Salt Lake City, Utah, in 1946. A self-confessed beach bum, he spent a harrowing year serving in the Vietnam War — “ M*A*S*H without the jokes and pretty women”, he recalled — conducting medical triage as an enlisted member of the US Navy. Returning to the United States, he obtained a bachelor’s degree in biochemistry and a PhD in physiology and pharmacology at the University of California, San Diego. …