- A new open-source Python tool, sciencedirect.py, was released that uses python-spidermonkey to execute ScienceDirect’s JavaScript and directly download pay-walled PDFs, providing a practical workaround for open-access research.  
- Participants outlined a complete DIY biomass-to-electricity system: pelletize biomass, burn in a pellet stove, drive a closed-loop steam engine, and generate electricity for under $2 k, with the intent of coupling it to solid-oxide fuel cells as backup power.  
- Open-hardware design work began on a 6-inch CNC plasma-cut pellet-mill die (5 mm holes on 6 mm grid) and was uploaded to replab.sigmanode.com, illustrating a collaborative approach to low-cost fabrication tooling.  
- The group debated the failure of university fab-labs and MIT projects (e.g., MTM, PERG) to release usable CAD files and open licenses, proposing “hollow packages” in SKDB—metadata stubs that act as IOUs for missing design files—to bootstrap a real open-parts database.  
- Spaced-repetition tools (Anki/SuperMemo) were highlighted for memorizing enzyme-commission numbers, metabolic networks, and mathematical theorems, framed as cognitive scaffolding for cross-disciplinary insight.  
- A 60 GB “naturedump” archive of Nature papers plus open-chemistry data sets (1000 Genomes, openchemistry.co.uk) was circulated, accompanied by criticism that many “open” projects still rely on restrictive CC-BY-NC licenses instead of OSI-approved ones.  
- DIY lab-on-a-chip and microfluidics were discussed as miniaturized biology labs integrating on-chip thermocyclers, sensors, and temperature control, with links to prior ribosome-engineering work on 4-nucleotide codons and unnatural-amino-acid incorporation.  
- A Fab Lab launch budget (~$312 k year 1, ~$222 k years 2–3) was shared in Google Sheets, and negotiations were underway to affiliate a new hackerspace in Florence, Alabama with MIT’s Fab Lab network.