Complete video at:
http://fora.tv/2008/02/25/Join
ing_3_5_Billion_Years_of_Micro
bial_Invention

Celebrity geneticist Craig
Venter theorizes on the
possibilities of life in
space, and argues that the
most likely source of life in
near space may be human
contamination.

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Joining 3.5 Billion Years of

more

Complete video at:
http://fora.tv/2008/02/25/Join
ing_3_5_Billion_Years_of_Micro
bial_Invention

Celebrity geneticist Craig
Venter theorizes on the
possibilities of life in
space, and argues that the
most likely source of life in
near space may be human
contamination.

-----

Joining 3.5 Billion Years of
Microbial Invention featuring
biologist J. Craig Venter.

Biologist, author and
businessman Craig Venter
discusses his work mapping and
synthesizing genomes. Venter
recalls his work mapping the
human genome and expands on
his current work which
includes categorizing new
genes and species of microbes
from ocean water. Venter also
explains how microbial
research can be used for
metabolic engineering and
alternative energy sources.

J. Craig Venter, PH.D. is
regarded as one of the leading
scientists of the 21st century
for his contributions to
genomic research and is one of
the country’s most
frequently cited scientists.
He is Founder and President of
the J. Craig Venter Institute
and J. Craig Venter Science
Foundation, not-for-profit
research and support
organizations dedicated to
human genomic research,
exploration of social and
ethical issues in genomics,
and alternative energy
solutions through microbial
sources. He is also the
Founder and Chairman of the
Institute for Genomic Research
(TIGR).

Dr. Venter began his formal
education after serving as a
Navy Corpsman in Danang,
Vietnam from 1967 to 1968.
After earning a bachelor’s
degree in biochemistry and a
Ph.D. in physiology and
pharmacology, both from the
University of California at
San Diego and both in three
years, he was appointed
professor at the State
University of New York at
Buffalo and the Roswell Park
Cancer Institute. In 1984, he
moved to the National
Institutes of Health, where he
developed expressed-sequence
tags (ESTs), a revolutionary
strategy for gene discovery.
In 1992, he founded TIGR,
where he and his team decoded
the genome of the first
free-living organism, the
bacterium Haemophilus
influenzae, using an original
whole-genome shotgun
technique. Since then, TIGR
has sequenced more than 50
genomes using Dr. Venter's
techniques.

Dr. Venter is the author of
more than 200 articles and the
recipient of numerous honorary
degrees, public honors, and
scientific awards, including
the Financial Times Man of the
Year Award, TIME Magazine Man
of the Year (runner up), 2002
Gairdner Foundation
International Award, and the
2001 Paul Ehrlich and Ludwig
Darmstaedter Prize. Dr. Venter
is a member of numerous
prestigious scientific
organizations including,
including the National Academy
of Sciences, American Academy
of Arts and Sciences, and
American Society for
Microbiology. He was also one
of the first 38 people to be
selected by Desmond Tutu as
part of the 'Hands That Shape
Humanity' world exhibition.

Dr. Venter's autobiography A
Life Decoded was published in
October of 2007.

Category Autos & Vehicles

Tags biology, dna, genetics, microbes, science, scientist, genome, bacteria, life, outer, space, mars, martian, shuttle, foratv