• Carboncopies.org released a new ASIM Experts Series talk with Max Hodak on “Brain-Machine Interfacing: Current Work and Future Directions,” surveying the latest BCI research and open neural-interface questions.  
• Community members are attempting to circumvent the Emotiv EPOC headset’s software key, while rumors circulate that “better consumer headsets” are about to launch.  
• Two October 2010 Nature articles—“Garage biotech: Life hackers” and the editorial “Garage biology”—argue that amateur biology should be embraced rather than regulated, giving DIYbio mainstream credibility.  
• An open-hardware toolkit for neuroscience is emerging: kanzure highlighted IORodeo lab instruments, Peter Polidoro’s Caltech rigs (Robofly, Flyatar), the motmot camera-trigger system, and the Dickinson Lab “Panels” controller, all aimed at slashing experimental costs.  
• The original SimCity source code was released as open-source “Micropolis,” providing a community-driven platform for urban-simulation research.  
• The LavaAmp PCR thermocycler—featured in Nature—was cited as a flagship example of ultra-low-cost, open-source hardware for molecular biology.  
• CADLab, a MATLAB-to-SolidWorks bridge exposing the full SolidWorks API via scriptable MATLAB classes, was introduced as a way to automate CAD design and simulation workflows.