craig venter institute.ogether they employ about 300 people on two coasts, including one nobel laureate, hamilton smith, and some of the top scientists in the world. >> so i'm much more like an orchestra conductor, you know, than the violinist. >> what do you think your greatest talent is? >> you know, i have an unusual type of thinking. i have no visual memory whatsoever. everything is conceptual to me. so i think that's part of it. i see things differently. >> venter likes to think big, and his latest advancement is no exception. so this is what all the fuss is about? >> this is the first synthetic species. >> and how long did it take you to make this? >> well, if you count the total time from the conception, about 15 years. >> and how many millions? >> about $40 million over that entire time period. >> in practical terms, it's about as useful as the mold that grows in a bachelor's refrigerator, but scientifically it's a milestone. the bacteria, which is similar to one found in the intestines of goats, was