J. Craig Venter, the scientist who helped crack the human genome and later pushed into synthetic biology, died Wednesday at 79, the J. Craig Venter Institute said. The institute said Venter died in San Diego after being hospitalized for side effects from a recent cancer treatment.
Venter became known in the 1990s for betting that he could sequence faster by using a different technique than the large government effort called the Human Genome Project. That competition culminated in 2000, when Venter’s private company Celera Genomics announced that it had decoded, along with Human Genome Project leaders, the 3.1 billion DNA sub-units—described as the chemical “letters” that make up the recipe of human life.
The genome milestone announced in 2000 was followed by another key step: in April 2003, the Human Genome Project declared the genome complete. Venter’s sequencing work helped set the stage for scientists to connect genetic information with how rare disorders and common diseases can develop, including conditions such as heart disease and cancer.
Venter also faced the public question that his work would alter how people think about life itself. At a White House event in 2000, he said, “Some have said to me that sequencing the human genome will diminish humanity by taking the mystery out of life.” He added, “Nothing could be further from the truth.”
In addition to sequencing technology, the institute said Venter brought a broader scientific perspective shaped by earlier experiences. The AP report said Venter served in the U.S. Navy during Vietnam, which he said taught him that life could be fragile and made him curious about how the body’s trillions of cells work together to create and maintain life.
Later, Venter worked at the National Institutes of Health, where he helped develop a technique to quickly identify large swathes of human genes. The AP report also said he later became the first to publish his own sequenced genome, with the goal of letting researchers study what is inherited from each parent and where vulnerabilities to disease might lie, potentially enabling tailored treatments based on a person’s genes.
Beyond human genome mapping, Venter helped drive progress in synthetic biology. The report said he and his team created a bacterial cell using lab-synthesized DNA, a breakthrough that demonstrated how engineered genetic material could be used to build new biological systems.
Venter’s legacy thus spans multiple steps in modern genetics: speeding up the decoding of DNA, connecting genetic variation to disease risk, and applying lab-made DNA to create cells—work that researchers said has expanded the possibilities for understanding rare diseases and common health conditions alike.