--- title: "Seed the Human Race" subtitle: "A $193,400 invoice, cell lines in liquid nitrogen, a 200-person genomic beauty study, and a victim who said no." description: "Jeffrey Epstein had his skin biopsied at Harvard, his fibroblast cell lines frozen in liquid nitrogen, and commissioned a $160,000 genomic study of beauty called 'The Venus Project.' Then he asked a woman at Zorro Ranch to be the mother of his child." date: "2026-03-26" author: "Unsealed Research Team" image: "seed-the-human-race.jpg" color: "#1a3a4a" tags: ["zorro-ranch", "eugenics", "george-church", "genetics", "harvard", "venus-project"] series: "zorro-ranch" series_title: "Zorro Ranch" series_order: 4 --- June 28, 2013. Massachusetts General Hospital. 6th floor of the Yawkey Building. Jeffrey Epstein arrives at 1:00 PM. A clinical geneticist named Dr. Joseph Thakuria is waiting in exam room 6C. George Church — Harvard's leading geneticist, co-founder of the Human Genome Project — has arranged the whole thing. > "It looks like we might be able to do this Friday (at least the MD and biopsy parts are scheduled), but need to know the time of day so the technicians can get the skin cells growing before taking off for the weekend."[1](#sources) The skin cells growing. A registered sex offender's tissue, cultivated in a Harvard-affiliated lab. The technicians needed them growing before the weekend. This is the article where the science stops being abstract. --- ## The Biopsy The email chain is twelve messages long. Church, Thakuria, and Epstein's assistant coordinating logistics like a routine medical appointment. Thakuria provides his cell phone number. His pager number. The address: MGH, 55 Fruit Street, Boston. He has a hard stop at 2 PM.[2](#sources) Epstein's staff had already registered him online for George Church's **Personal Genome Project** — a Harvard study that sequences participants' full DNA and makes it publicly available for research. Thakuria was the project's Medical Director. > "Jeffrey needs to be fully enrolled before blood draw and skin biopsy per our protocol."[3](#sources) Blood draw. Skin biopsy. Protocol. The language of clinical medicine, applied to a man whose name was on the sex offender registry in four states. By August 2013, the results were in: > "Jeffrey's skin biopsy resulted in several successful, viable fibroblast cultures. Those cell lines are now stored in liquid nitrogen and slated for iPS cell line ('adult stem cells') creation."[4](#sources) Fibroblast cultures. Stored in liquid nitrogen. Slated for adult stem cell creation. At a Harvard-affiliated hospital. For Jeffrey Epstein. And then, on September 21, 2013, an email from Epstein to his assistant. Five words: > "did we check on my genome?"[5](#sources) --- ## The Invoice On June 24, 2014, Thakuria sent Epstein an itemized invoice. It reads like a menu for a man who wanted to own his own biology — and possibly redesign it. | Item | Description | Cost | |------|-------------|------| | 1 | Exome sequencing (saliva sample) | $1,000 | | 2 | Exome sequencing of fibroblast cell lines | $1,000 | | 3 | iPS cell lines — "adult stem cells from JE's fibroblast cells" | $10,000 | | 4 | Whole genome sequencing via Illumina (rapid turnaround) | $11,400 | | 5 | Lifelong biobanking + annual reanalysis + CRISPR longevity edits | $10,000 | | 6 | CRISPR/Cas9 longevity mutations (included with #5) | Free | | **7** | **The Venus Project** | **$160,000** | | | **Total** | **$193,400** | Item #5 deserves a second read. Thakuria offered Epstein **"indefinite biobanking of his samples for eternity, lifelong reanalysis of genomic data on an annual basis, and CRISPR/Cas9 manipulation of his adult stem cells to introduce mutations in culture believed to increase longevity."** He added: "I'm only offering this to Jeffrey."[6](#sources) CRISPR gene editing on Epstein's own stem cells. To increase longevity. Offered exclusively to him. In 2014, when the technology was brand new. When Thakuria proposed a budget of $5,000 — recommending the exome as the best value — Epstein's response took four words: > "lets start and do the full genome with rapid turn around. 11,400" And when Thakuria asked about additional software budget, Epstein's reply was shorter: > "give him 10k"[7](#sources) --- ## The Venus Project Item #7. The big-ticket line. $160,000. Thakuria described it this way: > "Jeffrey and I briefly discussed a genomic research studying I'm dubbing the venus project (he'll know what this). I can do this for him but doing this work would be greatly aided by having some good bioinformatic infrastructure."[8](#sources) *He'll know what this.* Two hundred participants. $100,000 in genomic hardware. $60,000 in software. A study of the genetics of physical beauty — proposed to a man who told associates he wanted to "seed the human race with his DNA" by impregnating up to 20 women at his New Mexico ranch.[9](#sources) The name itself is the tell. Venus — the Roman goddess of beauty, love, and fertility. Not "The Genomics Study." Not "Project 7." *The Venus Project.* Named between a convicted sex offender and his personal geneticist in a conversation so private that the invoice note says "he'll know what this" — as though writing the actual purpose on paper would be unwise. Thakuria's work was pro bono. The exome sequencing, the follow-ups, the cell line management — all donated. He only charged for hard costs: sequencing runs, reagents, bioinformatic infrastructure. A Harvard-affiliated physician donating his time to the personal genomics program of a registered sex offender.[10](#sources) --- ## The Timeline Here's what the emails establish, in sequence: **June 2013**: Blood draw and skin biopsy at MGH. Church arranges. Thakuria performs. Epstein's staff coordinate like a VIP concierge service.[1](#sources) **August 2013**: Successful fibroblast cultures. Cell lines in liquid nitrogen. iPS cell line creation underway.[4](#sources) **September 2013**: "did we check on my genome?"[5](#sources) **November 2013**: Epstein's assistant emails Church directly — "Jeffrey is wondering if you might have any update on his genome project." Church at 3:12 AM: "I've encouraged them to set up a sample status update system."[11](#sources) **February 2014**: Thakuria presents budget options. Epstein bypasses the $5,000 exome. Full genome. Rapid turnaround. $11,400. "give him 10k."[7](#sources) **March 2014**: "Jeffrey will have his full genome sequenced." YPO study participants get exomes. Jeffrey gets the whole thing.[12](#sources) **June 2014**: The $193,400 invoice. Venus Project. CRISPR longevity edits. Lifelong biobanking. "I'm only offering this to Jeffrey."[6](#sources) **December 2014**: Thakuria analyzing exome data. Asks for family medical history. Epstein replies through Groff: "diabetes and kidney issues." Thakuria: "OK, we'll do a deep dive on those gene associations for his data."[13](#sources) **January 2015**: "I will prioritize Jeff's analysis."[14](#sources) Twenty months of sustained genomic work. Blood samples. Skin cells. Cell cultures in liquid nitrogen. A full genome sequence. CRISPR manipulation proposals. A 200-person beauty genetics study. All running through a Harvard physician and coordinated by the world's most famous geneticist. For a convicted sex offender who wanted to breed. --- ## "Be the Mother of His Child" **Johanna Sjoberg** was recruited by Ghislaine Maxwell to work for Epstein under the guise of answering phones. That lasted one day. The second day, Maxwell asked her to start giving massages.[15](#sources) Sjoberg visited Zorro Ranch in 2005. In her deposition — given under oath on May 18, 2016, at the offices of Boies Schiller & Flexner in Fort Lauderdale — she testified that Epstein asked her to be the mother of his child.[16](#sources) She refused. The same ranch. The same man. Ten thousand acres in the New Mexico desert, staffed by employees who answered directly to "JE," accessible only by private plane. The planned site for a program to impregnate up to 20 women and "seed the human race." And when a woman said no, the program didn't stop. It professionalized. Cell lines in liquid nitrogen. A 200-person genomic beauty study. CRISPR longevity mutations on his own stem cells. A clinical geneticist working pro bono. George Church at 3 AM answering emails about the status of Jeffrey Epstein's genome. --- ## The Scaffolding Go back to [The Harvard Keycard](/articles/harvard-keycard). Church's genetics work. Nowak's evolutionary dynamics. The permanent access card to 1 Brattle Square. The island science conference where Church, Nowak, Seth Lloyd, and Dimitar Sasselov discussed biology beyond any ethics board. Those weren't abstract intellectual interests. They were the scientific scaffolding for this. Church gave Epstein access to the Personal Genome Project. Thakuria gave him a personal geneticist. The cell lines gave him biological permanence. The Venus Project gave him a framework for studying the genetics of beauty across 200 people. And the ranch — [ten thousand acres](/articles/ten-thousand-acres), four shell companies, its own communications network — gave him the physical infrastructure to act on whatever he learned. A man who wanted to breed a genetically superior race had his own keycard to Harvard, his own cell lines in a freezer, his own CRISPR program, and his own 10,000-acre compound where no one could see what happened. The cell lines may still be there. A 2026 STAT News investigation found that no one at Harvard could account for what happened to Jeffrey Epstein's tissue samples. They may still exist in a freezer at Massachusetts General Hospital or Boston Children's Hospital — where Thakuria confirmed he had Epstein's fibroblasts "frozen down in liquid nitro." Nobody has checked. --- *This article is part of the **[Zorro Ranch](/reports/zorro-ranch-investigation)** research series. Previous: [\"Come Visit, You Look Miserable\"](/articles/come-visit-you-look-miserable). Next: [The FBI Interview](/articles/the-fbi-interview).* ## Sources & Documents 1. **vol00009-efta00388263** — George Church email coordinating Epstein's skin biopsy at MGH, June 25, 2013. [View →](/email/vol00009-efta00388263-pdf) 2. **vol00009-efta00388263** — Dr. Joseph Thakuria confirms exam room 6C, Yawkey Building 6th floor, MGH, June 27, 2013. [View →](/email/vol00009-efta00388263-pdf) 3. **vol00009-efta00388263** — Thakuria: "Jeffrey needs to be fully enrolled before blood draw and skin biopsy per our protocol." [View →](/email/vol00009-efta00388263-pdf) 4. **vol00009-efta00383096** — Groff forwards Thakuria update: fibroblast cultures successful, cell lines in liquid nitrogen. September 21, 2013. [View →](/email/vol00009-efta00383096-pdf) 5. **vol00009-efta00383096** — Epstein: "did we check on my genome?" September 21, 2013. [View →](/email/vol00009-efta00383096-pdf) 6. **EFTA01176879** — Thakuria invoice to Epstein, June 24, 2014. $193,400 total: genome sequencing, iPS cell lines, CRISPR longevity edits, Venus Project. [View →](/doc/EFTA01176879) 7. **EFTA02500395** — Epstein replies "give him 10k" after Thakuria proposes full genome at $11,400. February 24, 2014. [View →](/email/EFTA02500395) 8. **EFTA01176879** — "Jeffrey and I briefly discussed a genomic research studying I'm dubbing the venus project (he'll know what this)." [View →](/doc/EFTA01176879) 9. **EFTA02581462** — Epstein to Reid Hoffman and Joi Ito re: ranch visit after TED, March 2014. Dossier context: "Zorro Ranch is where Epstein allegedly housed underage girls and discussed eugenics-inspired plans." [View →](/doc/EFTA02581462) 10. **EFTA02585422** — Thakuria: "$2000 for sequencing costs. My work is pro bono." June 26, 2014. [View →](/email/EFTA02585422) 11. **vol00009-efta00379279** — Epstein's assistant to Church: "Jeffrey is wondering if you might have any update on his genome project." Church replies 3:12 AM. November 2013. [View →](/email/vol00009-efta00379279-pdf) 12. **EFTA02352622** — Thakuria via Groff: "Jeffrey will have his full genome sequenced" while YPO participants get exomes. March 3, 2014. [View →](/email/EFTA02352622) 13. **vol00009-efta00352139** — Thakuria requests family medical history; Epstein replies "diabetes and kidney issues." Deep dive on gene associations. December 2014. [View →](/email/vol00009-efta00352139-pdf) 14. **vol00009-efta00352139** — Thakuria: "I will prioritize Jeff's analysis." January 12, 2015. [View →](/email/vol00009-efta00352139-pdf) 15. **GVM_1328_7** — Giuffre v Maxwell court filing: "Sjoberg testified that Defendant recruited her for sex with Epstein under the guise of answering phones. That phone job lasted one day." [View →](/doc/GVM_1328_7) 16. **GVM_1327_23** — Deposition of Johanna Sjoberg, May 18, 2016, Giuffre v Maxwell. [View →](/doc/GVM_1327_23)