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Title details for A Life Decoded by J. Craig Venter - Available

A Life Decoded

My Genome—-My Life

by J. Craig Venter
Dick Hill
Audiobook
1 of 1 copy available
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Growing up in California, J. Craig Venter didn't appear to have much of a future. An unremarkable student, he nearly flunked out of high school. After being drafted into the army, he enlisted in the navy and went to Vietnam, where the life-and-death struggles he encountered as a medic piqued his interest in science and medicine. After pursuing his advanced degrees, Venter quickly established himself as a brilliant and outspoken scientist. In 1984, he joined the National Institutes of Health, where he introduced novel techniques for rapid gene discovery, and left in 1991 to form his own nonprofit genomics research center, where he sequenced the first genome in history in 1995. In 1998, he announced that he would successfully sequence the human genome years earlier and for far less money than the government-sponsored Human Genome Project would—a prediction that came to pass in 2001.


A Life Decoded is the triumphant story of one of the most fascinating and controversial figures in science today. In this riveting and inspiring account, Venter tells of the unparalleled drama of the quest for the human genome, a tale that involves as much politics as science. He also reveals how he went on to be the first to read and interpret his own genome and what it will mean for all of us to do the same. He describes his recent sailing expedition to sequence microbial life in the ocean, as well as his groundbreaking attempt to create synthetic life. Here is one of the key scientific chronicles of our lifetime, as told by the man who beat the odds to make it happen.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    November 22, 2007

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9781400125715
      • File size: 487300 KB
      • Duration: 16:55:12

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • AudioFile Magazine
      Genomes and DNA might not sound like the building blocks of an interesting book, but J. Craig Venter's autobiography is surprisingly engaging. Venter was the head of Celera, the private company that won the race to sequence the human genome in 2001. Dick Hill narrates the stories of Venter's childhood with a nostalgic tone that shifts to one of irony and reflection as he recounts Venter's experiences as a medic during the war in Vietnam. Scientific asides are worked into the early narrative seamlessly, making the shift from the personal to the scientific natural throughout. Only occasionally does Venter concentrate on the scientific minutiae of his genome project. Instead, the book provides an introduction to the rivalries and politics that surround a major scientific breakthrough while, at the same time, showing the genome genius's human side. J.A.S. (c) AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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