• A $3 billion, 10-year Texas cancer-research initiative was announced, creating the second-largest cancer-funding pool in the U.S. after the NCI and potentially opening new grant opportunities for independent labs.  
• A participant disclosed a pending patent on immortalizing human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) using CDK-1, claiming passage-12 cells that remain implantable without becoming tumorigenic.  
• The group explored a hybrid funding model for open-source biotech: running a PI-owned reagent company (citing BMR Services) plus side businesses—pottery studio in a 40-ft shipping container (~$260/day profit), EV conversions, welding, and woodworking—to keep a wet-lab solvent.  
• Governance architecture was proposed in which a hackerspace (501(c)(3) funded by $30/mo dues) and a scientific lab (grant-seeking 501(c)(3)) each own half of a property, sharing infrastructure while avoiding mutual financial dependence.  
• A $1 k capital-allocation debate compared four starter projects: tabletop CNC mill, scanning-tunneling microscope (STM), book scanner, or parts for an electric-car conversion (Daewoo donor).  
• DIY nanolithography options were weighed: sub-$1 k STM lithography for ultra-fine patterning versus opaque commercial pricing for excimer-laser lithography.  
• Practical maker logistics included a scrap-yard barter system (labor for free bicycle rims/sprockets), electrolytic derusting rigs (washing-soda bath + DC supply), and repurposing ~300 DDR sticks (256 MB each) as 32 MB × 8 external SRAM for AVR projects.  
• Links shared: two-part papers on automated microfactory architecture and STEP-based machining simulation, plus NOAA satellite imagery of 50-ft waves off New Zealand (1–3 Oct 2009).