• A 10,000-gallon open-source photobioreactor is being designed to convert algae into biofuel; the critical unsolved problem is low-energy lipid extraction, with candidate methods ranging from acid/solvent and supercritical fluids to a novel “dead-tank starvation” step that weakens cell walls before harvest.

• Botryococcus braunii was singled out as a promising algal strain because it naturally secretes long-chain hydrocarbons, but its slow doubling time and unsequenced genome complicate both selective breeding and minimal genetic-engineering approaches.

• Participants compiled a resource list for ultra-low-cost molecular biology: DIY PCR thermocyclers, homemade electrophoresis rigs, and open protocols from the MacGyver Project and Yale Tavi notes, while commercial primer synthesis has fallen to $0.35–$0.49 per base pair from vendors like MrGene and GenScript.

• A vendor comparison matrix at Biocompare (http://www.biocompare.com/matrix/124/Gene-Synthesis.html) shows gene-synthesis prices as low as $0.55 per base pair for non-complex sequences ≤3 kbp, although the site’s “GET QUOTE” spam interface was criticized as unusable.

• New open-source synthetic-biology tools were introduced: GenoCAD for genetic-design automation, Pobol for RDF-based BioBricks export, and Bricklet.org as an emerging parts registry.

• A concept for autonomous, biofuel-powered robots to re-mine abandoned U.S. mines was outlined, backed by 30 MB of USGS mineral-deposit data, aiming to supply raw materials for open-hardware projects.

• The community lamented the absence of a “mindat.org for manufacturing” that would map global material flows and help hobbyists source lab chemicals without university budgets, noting that ThomasNet, Sigma-Aldrich, and Invitrogen dominate but remain expensive.