The dark horse of the Human Genome Project died on April 29th, aged 79
“I have never seen Francis Crick in a modest mood.” Thus James Watson described his collaborator in the unravelling of DNA’s structure in the opening words of his book on that quest, “The Double Helix”. Substitute “Craig Venter” into this sentence and you have the measure of a man who, though not Crick’s equal as a scientist, was in his own opinion only a rung or two below him on the ladder of scientific merit. But he was also one who felt that his worth was never fully recognised, because he was never quite a member of the club.
This article appeared in the Obituary section of the print edition under the headline “Craig Venter”
From the May 9th 2026 edition
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