• A 50 € DIY gene-gun design that repurposes a CO₂ pistol and open-source firmware is documented in a PDF, offering a 300× cost reduction versus commercial units.  
• Participants are prototyping micro-stereolithography for 25–200 µm films using hobbyist UV resins and nitrogen/argon atmospheres to suppress oxygen inhibition, with guidance from a chemist who spent 12 years on dental photopolymers.  
• An open-source “Fusion RepRap” project is 3-D-printing aluminum via continuous TIG welding inside a small vacuum chamber, aiming to evolve into multi-metal and carbon-fiber deposition; documentation is being posted on the RepRap wiki.  
• SU-8 photoresist and the LIGA process were highlighted as routes to ultra-high-aspect-ratio microstructures (100:1) for microfluidics and future welding-based printers, while SU-8’s shrinkage stresses were debated as a limiting factor in multi-layer builds.  
• The Human Brain Project’s €1.6 B flagship plan and its open NEURON simulator were contrasted with Jeff Hawkins’ “On Intelligence,” sparking debate over whether whole-brain emulation is necessary for AI progress.  
• Participants criticized the Bayh–Dole Act for allowing universities to patent federally funded inventions, citing historical testimony and simulations that show higher innovation rates without patents.  
• A 125 GB Russian “Trauma Library” torrent and LibGen’s 63 TB index were shared as large-scale open-access book archives, alongside scattered biology e-book collections.  
• Security discussions covered Intel microcode updates, PCI/BIOS flash risks, Firewire DMA, and the merits of Coreboot for eliminating proprietary firmware blobs.  
• Open-source neuroscience repositories (OpenSourceBrain, OpenWorm) were linked, with criticism of poor code quality in academic models and concerns that the Human Brain Project may not keep its outputs in the public domain.