• A new “neuromod” subreddit and IRC channel was spun off to concentrate on hands-on, DIY neuromodulation rather than abstract theory, with early focus on combining tDCS/TMS with mental-imagery or hypnosis protocols and on the promise of ultrasound for more spatially precise non-invasive stimulation.

• Community-built hardware efforts were reviewed: the OpenStim project and a microcontroller tDCS unit designed on biohack.me (user “rdb”) were cited as the current state-of-the-art, while open-source TMS projects (“OpenStim”, “open-rtms”) were judged to have produced only mailing-list chatter; a curated library of low-cost H-coil plans is hosted at http://superkuh.com/library/Neuroscience/Magnetic%20Simulation/.

• Safety margins for tDCS were debated: rat data (Liebetanz et al., 2009) suggest a ~100× safety factor between experimental charge densities and human-use levels, yet anecdotal reports of pain and design flaws in open-hardware devices kept the discussion cautious.

• A public archive of open-access tDCS literature is being maintained at http://diyhpl.us/~bryan/papers2/neuro/tdcs/, and a Reddit archive of user “moktarino” posts was shared as a practical guide for DIY experimenters.

• Time-perception hacks were proposed: playing Unreal Tournament 2004 at 2× speed for minutes then reverting to normal speed reportedly induces a 5–15-minute “slow-motion” effect, while star-field screen savers or VR environments might deliberately trigger highway-driving “velocitation”; a curated paper collection on time perception is at http://diyhpl.us/~bryan/papers2/neuro/time-perception/.

• Biological longevity and signaling experiments were noted: the commercial telomerase activator TA-65 (cycloastragenol) was linked to activity in T-cells and fibroblasts (PubMed 22083896), and a student asked whether engineered bacteria could form a “microbial neural net” using chemical signaling—kanzure suggested DNA/RNA transcriptional circuits as faster substrates.

• A Boston-area microfluidics meetup (Paul Blainey, MIT, 11 July 2012) was announced, following prior gatherings with George Church, Drew Endy, and Neil Gershenfeld, highlighting ongoing grassroots interest in open-source bioengineering.