• Chronic stress and “cortisol resistance” were framed as a root driver of modern metabolic disease, underscoring longevity hacking strategies that target stress biology rather than downstream symptoms.  
• A droplet-based microfluidic DNA-synthesis concept was fleshed out: single-molecule ddNTP droplets delivered in programmed order to a template-free TDT reaction chamber, with synchronized chemical de-protection between bases to enable rapid, low-cost gene synthesis.  
• Participants debated the feasibility of an open-source cancer-data commons that would sequence every patient tumor and release genomic, treatment, and outcome data to accelerate research, citing the now-dormant Pink Army Cooperative as prior art.  
• Backyard recombinant spider-silk production using duckweed and engineered chloroplast vectors was reported at ~1 kg week⁻¹, converging with speculative “urban armor” applications inspired by Snow Crash.  
• David Dalrymple outlined a C. elegans whole-brain emulation roadmap combining optogenetic perturbation, fluorescent imaging, and dynamical-systems modeling, while pitching a non-profit research center that funds itself by spinning off equity-generating startups.  
• IRS scrutiny of open-source 501(c)(3) applications and the rejection of the nascent Open Source Hardware Association for being “too promotional” were highlighted as barriers to formalizing biohacker and open-hardware communities.  
• Fluidigm’s reusable microfluidic SNP-genotyping chips were cited as a commercial benchmark—achieving ~$0.01 per genotype—yet the company’s $218 M net losses underscored the difficulty of monetizing open-hardware DNA-synthesis devices.