- A 2004 LaTeX macro library called “fastex” (http://math.or.cz/fastex/lib.tex) was highlighted for real-time note-taking with custom shortcuts, while participants agreed that MathML is now usable only through JavaScript polyfills because native browser support remains weak.

- An unused mineral-oil thermocycler (no heated lid) was offered from Florida to an Ithaca hackerspace, illustrating the informal hardware-sharing culture of DIY biology.

- A debate framed intentional non-transgenic breeding as already constituting human-driven genetic modification, challenging the public definition of “GMO” and linking it to controversies over labeling and media campaigns such as the “pink-slime” story.

- Participants speculated that large electronics firms like Sony and Samsung may enter biotech through biosimilars and flow-cytometry acquisitions, but argued that nimble, tech-savvy startups could outmaneuver these incumbents.

- A Nature paper on elastic energy storage in the human shoulder and the evolution of high-speed throwing was shared, leading to the “throwing-as-egalitarianism” hypothesis that projectile weapons democratized coercive power and shaped early human social structures.

- Construction of a new DIY biology lab was documented: a second biosafety hood has been physically installed but still lacks electrical hookup and HEPA filters, while an unlabeled microwave of unknown provenance raised safety concerns about possible radioactive contamination.

- Lab culture tensions were illustrated by equipment reorganized “by size and shade of beige,” blocking power outlets, and half-serious proposals to allow moderate alcohol at the bench—countered by warnings of genetic damage and loss of inhibition.

- The open-source “BioMONSTAAAR” Arduino-based automated photobioreactor project was dismissed as “biobogus,” prompting joking plans for an alternative dubbed “THE ALGINATOR,” highlighting ongoing skepticism and creative rivalry within the biohacker community.