The TED medicine conference gave 400 people a glimpse at the future of healthcare last week, bringing together an eclectic group of innovators, from photographers to stem cell experts, each with a different point to make.

Here are some of the highlights.

Craig Venter said he has spent the last twenty years digitizing biology. Now, the genomics pioneer is doing something with all of that data. His lab has been transplanting entire genomes from one microorganism to another, building synthetic life forms with machines, and decoding a random soup of genes from seawater using high speed sequencing machines.

Venter made a convincing argument that those DNA sequences discovered during his voyages will be put to good use. Aquatic microbes are constantly waging chemical warfare with each other, and 10,000 antibiotics remain to be discovered in the seas, he said. By studying the genes from those combative organisms, researchers could develop a wide range of new medications.

Synthetic life itself could be used as a medication, according to Andrew Hessel, founder of the Pin