• A distributed, open-access archive of ~50 million scientific papers (~50 TB) is being scoped; the plan is to scrape PDFs via university EZproxy accounts, index them, and serve them through a private API, with the main challenge being how to rotate low-profile student accounts to stay under publisher abuse-detection thresholds that trigger at ~thousands of downloads per day.

• To fund credential access without exposing students, a “pay-students-for-access” model was proposed: one shared account used by ~500 people at $10/month would cover a student’s debt while remaining below campus-specific download limits, with empirical reset-threshold data collected centrally.

• A wireless, autoclavable optical-density sensor for bioreactors is in design; the target is a magnetic stir-bar form factor that survives 121 °C autoclave cycles and transmits turbidity data via passive optical backscatter, because commercial wireless-power ICs (Powercast, TI) are only rated to 125 °C storage and 260 °C reflow peaks.

• nmz787 is developing an open-source spectrometer around the Toshiba TCD1304AP linear CCD driven by a Parallax Propeller MCU; the single-core driver streams live data over USB 2.0 via an integrated ADC, with code and alignment docs to be released on GitHub, and a $200 surplus Czerny–Turner unit recommended as an inexpensive wavelength reference.

• The Parallax Propeller (8-core, 80–96 MHz, ≈ $8) was highlighted as an ideal low-cost MCU for open hardware: one core can run the CCD, another handles SD logging or USB streaming, and ready libraries are available at obex.parallax.com; a delta-sigma ADC using only two passives and one digital pin was shared as a quick analog-input hack.

• Finger-magnet “biohacking” was criticized after a Wired article claimed it would mainstream transhumanism; participants argued the implants only sense strong alternating magnetic fields and offer limited utility compared to external Hall-effect sensors or neural interfaces.

• A Ludum Dare 48-hour game jam produced an immune-system simulation game, offering an accessible, playful entry point to immunology concepts.

• Chinese pharmaceutical supply-chain scandals were discussed, including antibiotics produced with cooking oil instead of proper solvents and chromium-tainted gelatin capsules made from leather-industry waste.

• A concise beginner’s guide to nootropics (“益智藥”) was circulated, linking to a Longecity forum post that distills ten months of community research on cognitive-enhancing compounds, while participants debated whether memory-centric nootropics meaningfully improve analytical or reasoning performance.