Discovery to premiere the 'creation of synthetic life'

Discovery Science has documented this exciting five-year journey of Dr. J Craig Venter and his quest to produce life synthetically. Premiering on Tuesday, July 27 at 8 pm, the one-hour special CREATING SYNTHETIC LIFE takes viewers inside Dr Venter's pioneering quest and reveals the failures, successes and breakthrough moments of Dr Venter, Nobel Laureate Hamilton Smith,

Dr J. Craig Venter is regarded as one of the leading scientists of the 21st century for his numerous invaluable contributions to genomic research. He is Founder and President of the J. Craig Venter Institute (JCVI), a non-profit, research and support organisation with more than 400 scientists and staff dedicated to human, microbial, plant and environmental genomic research, the exploration of social and ethical issues in genomics and seeking alternative energy solutions through genomics. Dr Venter and his team at the JCVI has created history and they are the first to create a self-replicating, living cell. This marks a huge step forward not only in research, but also in providing potential solutions to a host of global challenges like generating new food sources, pharmaceuticals and vaccines; cleaning up pollution; creating new energy sources; producing clean water and more.