- Postbiota.org’s mailing list suddenly incurred €4,000/month in bandwidth fees, underscoring the financial fragility of small open-science communities.  
- Andrew Hessel’s new personal site (andrewhessel.com) is now live, positioning it as a hub for synthetic-biology outreach and collaboration.  
- A DIY neural-probe project is underway: a high-precision 3-D printer with self-leveling bed and CD-ROM optical feedback will let a neuroscientist iterate probe designs without animal testing, while an algae cell-picker from diybio.org is being adapted into a Prusa-Mendel bioprinter for extracellular-matrix and live-cell printing.  
- Newcomer “cakeboss,” an Alabama biology student, was directed to the DIYbio FAQ and regional contacts (Heath Matlock, BUGSS in Baltimore, GenoBlasts) to find legitimate DIYbio research opportunities.  
- A sharp debate on Linux security questioned whether “no viruses exist unless you’re root,” countered by reminders of kernel exploits and the value of curated malware collections for research.  
- TED talks were repeatedly criticized for lacking scientific depth, reinforcing the channel’s preference for primary literature and reproducible builds.  
- Synthetic protein signaling pathways were dissected: redesigning kinases to recognize novel targets while preserving catalytic function remains a major challenge.  
- GPCRs vs. immunoglobulins: GPCRs leverage evolution-generated diversity, whereas immunoglobulins achieve near-infinite variability through post-birth somatic recombination.  
- Yeast is favored over mammalian lines (293T, K562) for human-GPCR biosensors due to cheaper media, no CO₂ requirement, and easier handling.  
- A near-term biosensor project proposes linking a serotonin-receptor GPCR to a GFP reporter so TLC spots can be rapidly screened for psychoactive compounds; bacterial transcriptional regulators for pollutants are deemed more tractable than decade-long GPCR directed-evolution campaigns.