TED presents Craig Venter who talks Synthetic life.

He is making a historic announcement: that his team has created the first fully functioning, reproducing cell controlled by synthetic DNA. He explains how they did it and why the achievement marks the beginning of a new era for science.

In 2001, Craig Venter made headlines for sequencing the human genome. In 2003, he started mapping the ocean’s biodiversity.

And now he’s created the first synthetic lifeforms — microorganisms that can produce alternative fuels