Bill Clinton and Tony Blair linked up by satellite on June 26to announce the completion of the first draft of the human genome.Even when the hype is discounted，decoding the 3bn chemical“letters”of the genome is likely to have a huge impact on science，medicine and our perception of what it means to be human.Although thousands of scientists in dozens of laboratories around the world share credit for the achievement，one individual can be singled out for recognition：Craig Venter.

　　Dr.Venter，president of Celera，the US genomics company，may represent just one side of the race between the private and public efforts to decode the book of life.But no one stands out in the same way among the leaders of the public Human Genome Project.The controversial4） Californian has made vital contributions to the whole enterprise，and his competitive pressure spurred on the public project.

　　That is certainly his view.“I have been the catalyst for making everything happen on the [fastest possible] time course，”he says.“Some of my worst critics have said I only speeded things up by a year――and even that would have biomedical5） research――while the most optimistic6） ones have said I made 10years' difference.”

　　Some leaders of the public project are happy to acknowledge Dr.Venter' s contribution.Trevor Hawkins，director of the US Joint Genome Institute，says：“The fact that we are sitting here with a completed draft genome is100percent due to Craig and his bold initiative of introducing gene sequencing on an industrial scale，with hundreds of machines working round the c lock.”

　　Celera Genomics was founded in May 1998as a subsidiary of Perkin－Elmer，the scientific instruments company.（Since then Perkin－Elmer has changed name twice，first to PE and then to Applera.）Equipped with one of the world' s most powerful civil super－computer facilities and 300of the latest gene sequencing machines from PE's Applied Biosystems subsidiary7），Dr .Venter set up shop close to the National Institutes of Health（NIH）in Bethesda，Maryland――the federally funded research campus where he had started his career in genomics.

　　Celera' s stated goal was“to substantially complete the sequencing of the human genome ”in 2001.The public Human Genome Project，funded mainly by the US government and Britain's Wellcome Trust，the world's richest research charity，was then still aiming for the original completion date of 2005，set when the programme had started 10years earlier.

　　The leaders of the public programme――alarmed at the prospect of a private company gaining patent8） rights to so much genetic information――promptly accelerated their schedule；in September 1998they promised a “working draft”of the genome by 2001.But Celera was working even faster than expected and by the end of 1999it was clear that the company might complete its own draft by mid－2000.

　　Both sides were then becoming concerned about the damage being done to their image by the increasingly vituperative9） race between them.They discussed a collaboration but the talks foundered because the public project's commitment to immediate open access to all DNA sequences was irreconcilable10） with Celera's commercial need to retain intellectual property rights over its data.

　　The bickering11） resumed early in 2000，although the two sides patched up their differences sufficiently to soak up the politicians' plaudits together at the genome completion ceremony in June.

　　In retrospect，however，Dr.Venter sees that all the publicity about the“race to the genome ”has brought benefits，too.“On my travels this year I have seen how fascinated people are by this〖genetic〗information，and my view is that the human competition was a primary reason why they became interested.It had all the elements of melodrama you could want.”

　　In scientific terms，Dr.Venter has made two main contributions to gene discovery.

　　In conversation with Dr.Venter it becomes clear that his primary motivation is scientific discovery，rather than making millions of dollars or even deriving medical benefits from genomics.He says：“The biggest thrill in life is making scientific breakthroughs.No other reward can compare with that satisfaction.”

by Clive Cookson