In this elegant research vessel, Craig Venter set sail around the world to shotgun sequence the millions of viruses and bacteria in every spoonful of seawater. From the first 5 ocean samples, this team grew the number of known genes on the planet by 10x and the number of genes involved in solar energy conversion by 100x. The ocean microorganisms have evolved over a longer period of time and have pathways that are more efficient than photosynthesis. Another discovery: every 300 km across the open ocean, the microbial genes are 85% different. The oceans are not homogenous masses. They consist of myriad uncharted regions of ecological diversity… and the world’s largest genetic database.

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