CRAIG VENTER, SEQUENCED

1946: Born in Utah.

1967-68: Serves in Vietnam as a hospital corpsman, triaging patients during the Tet Offensive. Tries to commit suicide by swimming out to sea; has change of heart after being nosed by a shark. 1972: Receives B.S. in biochemistry from UCSD. 1975: Receives PH.D. in physiology and pharmacology from UCSD.

1976: Joins faculty at the Medical School of SUNY Buffalo.

1984: Joins National Institutes of Health.

1992: Founds the Insti-

tute for Genomic Research.

1995: Decodes the first

genetic sequence, or genome, of a cell: a bacterium, Haemophilus influenzae.

1998: Cofounds Celera Genomics, a for-profit company intent on sequencing the human genetic code in three years. Enters a race with the government-funded Human Genome Project, which is trying to do the same thing.

2000: Celera and the Human Genome Project announce the completion of a draft human genome sequence at a ceremony at the white House presided over by bill Clinton. 2002: Fired from Celera Genomics.

2004–06: Circumnavi

gates the globe on his 100-foot sailboat, Sorcerer II, sequencing DNA from seawater to discover new life. Cofounds Synthetic Genomics, a company aimed at creating synthetic life. Founds J. Craig Venter Institute.

2007: becomes the first individual to have his entire genome sequenced. The results are published in PLOS Biology. 2010: Develops the first synthetic bacterium, creating a new species with entirely man-made DNA.

2013: Cofounds Human Longevity. 2015: Launches Health Nucleus.

2016: Diagnosed with prostate cancer.