- A Google-Group thread on pdfparanoia, a tool for stripping DRM from academic PDFs, reignited debate over IEEE license clauses that forbid any modification of downloaded PDFs, highlighting the ongoing tension between open-access ideals and restrictive publisher policies.

- Rich Lee’s “genetic-modifications.csv” was added to diyhpluswiki, cataloging speculative consumer gene-therapy products such as cavity-preventing oral microbes, SLC24A5 skin-lightening edits, straight-hair edits, and a Cowper’s-gland tweak to make semen taste like syrup.

- Participants discussed spinal (T9–T10 epidural) versus pudendal nerve (S2–S4) targeting for an “orgasmotron” device, referencing Stuart Meloy’s 2009 Scientific American article and patent US20100222858, with technical notes on chronic-pain surgery findings.

- Transcranial magnetic stimulation of the spine was deemed unreliable due to bone geometry and heterogeneous dielectric properties that distort induced current density, complicating coil placement and field predictability.

- Eureka Genomics (eurekagenomics.com) announced openings for a programmer and a web-developer/sysadmin, with remote work sometimes allowed; résumés were directed to vyfofanov@eurekagenomics.com.

- IPython’s web-based notebook interface was evaluated for classroom use, with participants noting the lack of an easy file-upload mechanism and potential security risks when giving students shell-equivalent access, suggesting disposable EC2 or KVM instances as a workaround.

- A large, browsable repository of Russian nuclear-research PDFs from the Kurchatov Institute (144.206.159.178/ft/) was discovered, offering searchable metadata and full-text access to decades of technical reports.

- Recent Nature and Techdirt articles criticized moves away from Creative Commons and fair-use exceptions toward more restrictive licensing in EU and open-access publishing.

- A San Diego DIYbio meetup posted an inventory of donated lab gear, including a Packard microarray scanner, Roche LightCycler real-time PCR machine, Buchi rotovap, four lasers, and a refrigerator with fluorophores.

- The new “Biotech ‘n’ Beyond” community lab space (biotechnbeyond.com) showcased photos of ~40 attendees, free ping-pong, beer chilled in a centrifuge, and donated RepRaps plus additional PCR and microarray hardware.