Making It Happen; Craig Venter galvanized the Human Genome Project. Can he do it for synthetic biology?(Interview)

Byline: Barrett Sheridan

Craig Venter is the rude boy of molecular biology. He made himself famous by decoding the human genome faster and cheaper than anyone expected, beating a team of rivals led by the U.S. National Institutes of Health. Since then, Venter has spent much of his time aboard Sorcerer II, his high-tech research vessel, trolling the seas in search of new proteins. The findings will be helpful, he says, on his next project: synthesizing a living organism from a handful of inert chemicals. If he succeeds, he'll be able to turn cells into biochemical factories that can churn out biofuels. NEWSWEEK's Barrett Sheridan spoke with him by phone from Edinburgh, Scotland, on the problems and potential of synthetic biology. Excerpts:

SHERIDAN: Synthetic biology has the potential to revolutionize many fields. Why have you chosen to focus on energy?

VENTER: Energy is probably the most pressing demand on our planet. We're designing fuels that will be, we think, much better fuels [than what we have now], because they don't depend on oil and coal.

Like cellulosic ethanol, which can be made from waste products instead of corn?

Well no, actually. I think cellulosic ethanol is going to be a very short-term phenomenon. When most people talk about biofuels they talk about using oils or grease from plants. We're talking about something made truly synthetically through biochemical processes, maybe starting with sugar, or starting with sunlight.

Deriving a fuel that can power automobiles from sunlight alone sounds farfetched. What's the time frame?