James Watson and Craig Venter are two of the most influential scientists of the past century, their legacies entwined with the molecule of life, DNA. They are also the first people to have had their entire genomes sequenced. With their respective autobiographies about to hit the bookstores, Peter Aldhous spoke to them about their lives in science
EACH has been described as the enfant terrible of their scientific generation 鈥� so perhaps it was inevitable that they would clash, as successive generations are prone to do. And sparks certainly flew when James Watson, co-discoverer of the double helix, clashed with the upstart gene sequencer Craig Venter. The encounter set in train a sequence of momentous events for both men.
You will read much about this conflict in Venter鈥檚 autobiography, A Life Decoded, but not a word in Watson鈥檚 memoir Avoid Boring People. It seems to be a time that Watson would rather forget. His book concentrates on earlier scientific triumphs and his experiences in the academic corridors of power.
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The story of Watson鈥檚 collaboration with Francis Crick to crack the structure of DNA has been told many times, most notably in Watson鈥檚 own book The Double Helix. But it bears retelling, and Avoid Boring People sets the tale in the context of the birth of modern molecular biology.
Equally entertaining is Watson鈥檚 account of his struggle to get The Double Helix published in the face of opposition from Crick and others. In today鈥檚 鈥渢ell all鈥� culture, it is easy to forget how scandalous this book was perceived to be, revealing as it did the human side of scientific discovery, warts and all.
Each chapter of Avoid Boring People ends with some 鈥渓essons learned鈥�. They are sometimes provocative 鈥� 鈥淩un a benevolent dictatorship鈥� 鈥� and often quirky 鈥� 鈥淒on鈥檛 take up golf鈥� 鈥� rather like the man himself. But the device cannot sustain the later chapters, which drag a little.
A Life Decoded is a page-turner throughout, with its own device: boxes commenting on the implications of Venter鈥檚 genetic sequence. While he may lack Watson鈥檚 subtle command of prose, Venter鈥檚 is a remarkable story, taking us from his experiences as a medic in Vietnam to his current dream of creating 鈥渟ynthetic鈥� life.
Few had heard of Venter until, in 1991, he announced the discovery of hundreds of human genes by sequencing fragments of DNA known as expressed sequence tags. It shook things up 鈥� particularly when the US National Institutes of Health (NIH), where Venter worked, tried to patent the genes. All hell broke loose, with Watson, who headed the NIH genome project, leading the attack.
This hurt Venter, who says the decision to patent was not his. Watson left the NIH soon after, having fallen out with the agency鈥檚 director, Bernadine Healy, over the patents. Just three months later, Venter also left, establishing himself in the private sector as the man other genome researchers loved to hate.
When the time came to sequence the human genome, Venter was again pushing a new approach 鈥� the 鈥渨hole genome shotgun鈥�. Rather than reading the sequence piece by piece, he proposed shattering the whole thing into overlapping fragments, reading the lot, and then using computer algorithms to stitch the sequence together. Oh, and he was going to form a company, Celera, to complete the task faster than the Human Genome Project.
If you are offended by self-promotion, this is not the book for you. Some may also question Venter鈥檚 claim that he had no choice but to go it alone in the commercial sector, given his rejection by the genome establishment. Perhaps the real point is that for someone with Venter鈥檚 self-belief and impatience, there was no choice.
Get beyond the ego, and Venter is an engaging character. He seems to crave approval, even while embracing his 鈥渂ad boy鈥� image. That desire has never conspicuously troubled Watson, who to this day delights in saying the unsayable. So much in common, yet so different 鈥� but if Watson and Venter can agree on anything, it is that these differences may in large part be written in their DNA.
