Scientist Craig Venter, known for being one of the first to sequence the human genome, spoke at Google’s Zeitgeist conference in Arizona this week. The topic: reprogamming DNA to create “a more information-driven species”.

Yeah, it’s some pretty mind-bending stuff.

We had the opportunity to listen to him speak in person at SXSW a few years ago, earlier in his work with synthetic life. It’s truly fascinating. If you’ve got twenty minutes to kill, watch the video above.

Image via YouTube