• A DIY Blu-ray laser lithography project is adapting a 405 nm, 500 mW Blu-ray optical head to pattern photoresists at 2 mm working distance, aiming to fabricate micro-fluidic molds by curing PDMS on laser-patterned SU-8 resist; a 2011 paper demonstrating high-resolution, low-cost micro-fabrication with this method is the primary reference.

• Sourcing specialty photopolymer resins is a major bottleneck: a UK supplier quoted £855 for 100 kg plus £375 freight, and UK postal restrictions block small-quantity liquids to the US, prompting exploration of Alibaba and freight-forwarders as alternatives.

• Drishti (http://anusf.anu.edu.au/Vizlab/drishti) was recommended as a real-time volume-rendering tool for visualizing 3-D micro-structures generated by these lithography processes.

• Craig Venter’s “minimal cell” work was criticized as a patent-encumbered race that could lock up foundational synthetic-biology IP, drawing parallels to early genome patents that threatened the Human Genome Project.

• The channel’s paper archive (diyhpl.us/~bryan/papers2) received takedown requests from publishers, sparking debate over mirroring strategies such as renaming files to hashes and restricting permissions.

• Fire-loving insects possess uncooled infrared sensors that function as thermal bolometers (Golay cells), offering a biological blueprint for low-cost IR imaging hardware; a free Beilstein Journal of Nanotechnology review on this topic was shared.

• A synthetic-biology route was proposed to create micron-scale IR “pixels” by encapsulating temperature-sensitive ion channels in vesicles that drive pigment-forming or pigment-cleaving reactions, though challenges in interfacing enzymes and ion-channel machinery were noted.

• Elsevier’s ~$70–100 M acquisition of Mendeley was met with criticism over loss of openness and restrictive export policies, prompting calls for an open-source replacement.