- A distributed bug-tracking system was proposed that would live in a wiki layer (e.g., /talk/) and use RSS to push updates to mailing lists and automatically fold replies back into the wiki.  
- Discussion of open-source molecular biology tools included a cereal-box CD spectrophotometer, a DIY PCR thermocycler described as “a lightbulb and a fan,” and the possibility of using LEDs as broad-spectrum light sources for spectroscopy.  
- A step-by-step explanation of PCR was given: primers matching ~10–20 bp at each end of the target sequence are required because Taq polymerase can only extend an existing strand; primer–template mismatch tolerance and melting-temperature equations were noted.  
- The cloning workflow was clarified: genomic DNA is fragmented, fragments are ligated into plasmids, bacterial colonies are screened (e.g., with fluorescence-tagged monoclonal antibodies) for the desired gene, and positive plasmids can then be sequenced and re-engineered.  
- Debate on protein-purification strategies contrasted aptamer-based capture (favored by kanzure) with conventional affinity/phase-change chromatography preferred by the DIYbio community; computational aptamer design plus oligo synthesis was suggested as a workaround for backbone-specificity issues.  
- A “self-replicating bioreactor” concept was sketched: a tank that expresses its own enzymes (Taq, ligase, etc.) and structural proteins, requiring only external feedstocks and scrap metal, to close the loop in distributed synthetic-biology labs.  
- The repressilator (Elowitz oscillator) was being re-implemented as a single double-stranded DNA molecule rather than three separate transcriptional units, aiming for a more compact synthetic-biology part.  
- Marshall Brain’s “Manna” short story on automated fast-food management and creeping robotic control was discussed; participants saw parallels in existing business-metrics systems and speculated on countermeasures to such centralized automation.  
- IEEE Spectrum’s June 2008 “Singularity” issue was highlighted, featuring a profile of 16-year-old MIT grad student David Dalrymple and framing Gershenfeld’s “fab lab” and Kurzweil’s AI timelines as complementary paths to the singularity.