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Genome pioneer Craig Venter dies: here’s how he transformed science

Venter redrew the boundaries of biology — sequencing DNA at unprecedented speed, engineering synthetic life and charting ocean microbes.
By
  1. Ewen Callaway
Craig Venter poses for a portrait with his poodle Darwin at his oak desk in his office.

Craig Venter in his office with his dog, Darwin. Credit: Eli Meir Kaplan/For The Washington Post via Getty

The ‘maverick’ scientist Craig Venter — who led a race to decode the human genome, pioneered a genome-sequencing method still used today, created the first organisms with synthetic genomes and sailed around the world recording microbial diversity — died on 29 April, aged 79.

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doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-026-01226-z

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