- George Church’s lab used MAGE (Multiplex Automated Genetic Engineering) to reprogram E. coli to synthesize the antioxidant lycopene, illustrating a concrete step toward engineered microbial production of high-value compounds.  
- A BusinessWeek article (http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/10_34/b4192041532905.htm) was circulated as background on the MAGE/lycopene work, highlighting mainstream coverage of advanced synthetic biology.  
- The Presidential Commission on Bioethics released draft recommendations on emerging biotechnologies; kanzure linked the Nature news blog summary (http://blogs.nature.com/news/thegreatbeyond/2010/11/presidential_commission_recomm.html) for discussion.  
- Next Big Future’s post on a six-degree-of-freedom nanomanipulator (http://nextbigfuture.com/2010/08/six-degree-of-freedom-nanomanipulator.html) was shared as an example of open hardware for nanoscale positioning.  
- kanzure asked for documentation or validation studies on NanoEngineer-1 (NE1) molecular-design software, pointing to the project’s snapshot page (http://www.nanoengineer-1.com/snapshots/NE1_Documentation/).  
- An NPR story on DIY “hackers” repurposing everyday objects (http://www.npr.org/2010/11/12/131268511/diy-hackers-tinker-everyday-things-into-treasure) was circulated to illustrate the growing maker-bio overlap.  
- Discussion criticized the use of Teleplace for virtual talks, with participants preferring simple web video or live streams for broader accessibility.  
- A CNET article on high-tech espionage (http://news.cnet.com/Leaks-and-geeks-International-espionage-goes-high-tech/2100-1001_3-242620.html) prompted kanzure to recommend TrueCrypt for secure data handling among biohackers.