"Algae is the ultimate biological system using sunlight to capture and convert carbon dioxide into fuel... I came up with a notion to trick algae into pumping more [fuel] out." Craig Venter's Synthetic Genomics partners with ExxonMobil in a $600M project to harvest biofuels from genetically engineered algae. "We have modest goals of replacing the whole petrochemical industry." [previously] [more inside]
posted by Blazecock Pileon on Jul 14, 2009 - 45 comments

Transcript and video of the 32nd Richard Dimbleby lecture by Craig Venter.
posted by sushiwiththejury on Dec 12, 2007 - 9 comments

Venter made an artificial chromosome and may have already created artificial life in his lab. Is it a solution for global warming, or a plot for world domination? Anyway, it's a lot to think about and discuss.
posted by strangeguitars on Oct 6, 2007 - 35 comments

The Diploid Genome Sequence of J. Craig Venter. (Previous MeFi)
posted by i_am_a_Jedi on Sep 16, 2007 - 31 comments

New Scientist reports that a virus has been built up from mail order components. Other reports on this are in USA Today and Nature. This isn't time life has been created in the lab, as previously linked.
What's interesting is that this study was funded by the Department of Energy to produce a completely man made lifeform that can create hydrogen or consume greenhouse gasses. The present virus is an artificially created copy of a naturally occurring virus.
posted by substrate on Nov 14, 2003 - 7 comments

Taking navel-gazing to a whole new level: Remember when a company called Celera decoded the human genome a few years back? Well, now we know whose DNA they used.
posted by mrbula on Apr 27, 2002 - 5 comments