Venter is a celebrity, not a basic scientist. Yes, he contributed greatly to the HGP. Yes he spurred on a lagging public project. Yes, he founded multiple scie

Venter is a celebrity, not a basic scientist. Yes, he contributed greatly to the HGP. Yes he spurred on a lagging public project. Yes, he founded multiple scientific institutes. But the HGP would have been completed without him. He offered no new insight or idea that changed the fundamental understanding of biology. He is famous, and deserves that fame, but does his ideas and research deserve a prize? We'll see, but certainly not yet.