• A machine-learning class’s $100 Amazon EC2 credits prompted brainstorming on compute-intensive open-science tasks, with participants suggesting whole-genome resequencing and RepRap part rendering as ideal uses.  
• Crossbow, a Hadoop-based pipeline that combines Bowtie and SoapSNP, was highlighted as capable of resequencing a 35× human genome in three hours on a 320-core EC2 cluster for roughly $100, demonstrating cloud-scale genomics on a hobbyist budget.  
• Synthetic biology’s “central dogma” was critiqued: DNA → mRNA → protein is only the linear view; real systems include feedback loops such as mRNA → DNA, protein → DNA, and DNA → DNA interactions, complicating efforts to treat DNA as a simple programming language.  
• The BioBricks initiative (bbf.openwetware.org) was presented as the flagship attempt to modularize genetic parts for plug-and-play biology, while Clotho—a BioCAD design tool—was scheduled for a public demo at Hacker Dojo on the 29th.  
• A proposed open-hardware project aims to reverse-engineer Polonator sequencing protocols into a 3-D-printable, low-cost next-generation sequencer that hobbyists could build, addressing the current gap between commercial platforms and DIY capability.  
• Debate over open versus closed data emphasized that open genomics data accelerates science, with participants rejecting NDAs and traditional privacy as evolutionary baggage that hinders research.  
• Venter Institute’s “synthetic cell” announcement sparked discussion on sensationalist media coverage; participants clarified that genome transplantation and watermarking are incremental advances, not revolutionary breakthroughs or immediate biosecurity threats.  
• Practical fabrication updates included newly milled RepRap Mini-Mendel idler brackets to fix belt-rub issues and microscope images revealing gold bond-wires on scavenged PROM chips, reigniting interest in the economics of e-waste gold recovery.