- The U.S. Bureau of Industry and Security’s Export Administration Regulations (EAR) were shown to restrict virtually every tool needed for open-source nanofabrication—lithography ≤95 nm, MBE/CVD reactors, >1 MeV ion implanters, sub-1 GHz scopes, high-resolution ADCs, >40 MHz DSPs, and even clean-room filters—effectively blocking grassroots semiconductor work; the full Commerce Control List index (ccl_index.pdf) was provided as a reference.

- A Technology Review article on computational data-mining of psychedelic-drug research was shared, highlighting new algorithmic approaches to studying hallucinogens.

- Zeolite thermal-storage media capable of holding four-times the energy density of water and retaining heat indefinitely were discussed as potential off-grid or portable energy solutions.

- MPI-Heidelberg released an 80 nm-resolution serial block-face electron-microscopy dataset of an entire mouse brain (http://homes.mpimf-heidelberg.mpg.de/~smikula/blockface/), prompting calls for a “Google Maps for brains” hosting platform.

- An AAAS/FBI joint biosecurity report (http://listserv.aaas.org/pipermail/wspa/attachments/20120424/2f8b73fd/attachment-0001.pdf) was circulated; although its fictional “Professor Rhea Searcher” scenario was mocked, participants welcomed its relatively permissive stance toward DIYbio.

- The 2010 Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues report on synthetic biology was revisited; participants recalled that testimony from Jason Bobe, Rob Carlson, and Drew Endy helped secure a favorable regulatory tone for amateur biology.

- Discussion of non-biological muscle actuators covered torsional carbon-nanotube fibers and electroactive polymers, with the observation that no known organism metabolizes graphene or CNTs because biological oxidants are too weak to attack them.

- A Nature paper on approaching biosphere regime shifts (Approaching_a_state_shift_in_Earths_biosphere_-_Nature_2012.PDF) was shared, prompting half-serious references to the Gaia hypothesis and Earth as a cybernetic system.