- A newly published study quantifies a 20–30 % drop in downstream research and product development for human genes that were locked up in Celera’s patents, providing empirical support for the community’s long-standing criticism of Venter’s attempted human-genome IP claims.  
- Channel members reviewed the 2012 FBI–DIYBio closed-door meeting transcripts (http://diyhpl.us/wiki/transcripts/fbi-diybio-2012/) and concluded that BSL-1 community labs are regulated mainly by zoning, waste-disposal, and anti-bioterror statutes rather than specific genetic-engineering laws; they recommend consulting university OSEH offices and established spaces like Biocurious/Genspace before approaching city hall.  
- A 2012 Science paper linked by paperbot shows that neonicotinoid pesticides (clothianidin, thiamethoxam) measurably impair bumble-bee colony growth and queen production; participants speculated about breeding pesticide-tolerant bees as a mitigation strategy.  
- Jonathan Cline introduced “Sensomatic,” an open-source, low-cost device for automated microbial culturing aimed at DIY biologists, with design requirements drawn from Cory Tobin’s nitrogenase-directed-evolution work at LA Biohackers; documentation is on OpenWetware and YAML-based control of Tecan robots via Robotics::Tecan is demonstrated.  
- The White House “Hangout on the Maker Movement” and a new CAS–Springer collaboration (1985-present, 165 chemistry journals) were noted as potentially increasing open visibility of synthetic protocols by feeding experimental procedures into CAS databases.  
- Microryza (now Experiment.com) was debated as a science-crowdfunding platform; participants questioned its exit strategy and criticized a specific proposal to repurpose a chemotherapeutic agent for BRCA-mutation prevention, arguing that pre-implantation genetic diagnosis offers a safer alternative.  
- Akamai’s “silence requirements” NDA—so strict that even acknowledging the NDA is forbidden—was flagged on Hacker News as a red flag for security researchers, alongside Alexander Sotirov’s reverse-engineering slides (phreedom.org).