Richard Dimbleby Lecture 2007 - A DNA-Driven World
Dr J Craig Venter gave the annual Richard Dimbleby Lecture on UK’s BBC One TV channel on 4 December 2007. The text of his lecture follows.
Thank you for the kind introduction. It is a great honor to be presenting the 2007 Dimbleby Lecture as only the third American, and one of just a handful of scientists out of the 32 Dimbleby Lectures.
I have called this lecture A DNA-Driven World, because I believe that the future of our society relies at least in part on our understanding of biology and the molecules of life - DNA. Every era is defined by its technologies. The last century could be termed the nuclear age, and I propose that the century ahead will be fundamentally shaped by advances in biology and my field of genomics, which is the study of the complete genetic make-up of a species.
Our planet is facing almost insurmountable problems, problems that governments on their own clearly can’t fix. In order to survive, we need a scientifically literate society willing and able to embrace change - because our ability to provide life’s essentials of food, water, shelter and energy for an expanding human population will require major advances in science and technology.
In this lecture I will argue that the future of life depends not only in our ability to understand and use DNA, but also, perhaps in creating new synthetic life forms, that is, life which is forged not by Darwinian evolution but created by human intelligence.
Mohammad Ali-Movahedian:
I think it is so usefull to have these field of LECTURES
21 January 2008, 5:25 pmbe show in most of international TV chanels,As well As
to publish science magazines.
Mohammad Ali-Movahedian:
no comment
21 January 2008, 5:26 pm