Craig Venter: many battles won, one left unfinished

Credit: Brett Shipe / J. Craig Venter Institute

Craig Venter was the first person to read his own genome (his full sequence was published in 2007). He was able to study his genetic predispositions and undergo the most advanced tests to verify their real-world relevance. In 2014, he launched a company called Human Longevity with the goal of building bridges between genetic sequences and diagnosis. In this way, by 2016 he had identified and defeated prostate cancer, but science and luck were not enough to save him a second time in 2026. When he passed away on April 29, he had not accomplished everything he had hoped to, but more than enough to secure a place in history, and perhaps even earn the respect of many of his former rivals.

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CRISPR-baby sentence, too little info to comment?

The year 2019 ended with three years in jail sentenced to He Jiankui for illegal medical practice. The CRISPR-baby scandal’s epilogue was applauded on twitter by a few leading scientists such as Craig Venter and Fyodor Urnov and decried on STAT News by the controversial biohacker Josiah Zayner. Most experts, however, stayed silent.

As stressed by the Washington Post, “the judicial proceedings were not public, and outside experts said it is hard to know what to make of the punishment without the release of the full investigative report or extensive knowledge of Chinese law and the conditions under which He will be incarcerated.”