SPIEGEL Interview with Craig Venter: 'We Have Learned Nothing from the Genome' - SPIEGEL ONLINE - News - International

SPIEGEL: So the Human Genome Project has had very little medical benefits so far? Venter: Close to zero to put it precisely. SPIEGEL: You stored a code in the genome of this cell. Has anyone decoded it? Venter: Yes, it is the first genome in the world to include an e-mail address. So far, 50 scientists have cracked the code and answered us. SPIEGEL: It took eight years from the time the first bacterial genome was decoded until the human genome was completed. How much time will elapse between the creation of the first synthetic bacteria and the creation of the first synthetic human? Venter: There is currently no reason for us to synthesize human cells. I am, for example, a fan of the work that was done a short time ago that led to the decoding of the Neanderthal genome. But we don't need any more Neanderthals on the planet, right? We already have enough of them.