• Before cheap gene synthesis, large genes were physically excised from genomic DNA with restriction enzymes and ligated into E. coli vectors—still a viable route for genes too big to synthesize de novo.  
• Open-access papers circulated include studies on spaced-learning memory formation, PEG-immobilized silicon surfaces for protein/cell work, and biomedical uses of PEG-coated silica nanoparticles.  
• JoVE (Journal of Visualized Experiments) videos can be accessed without subscription once their URL naming scheme is known, undermining the paywall.  
• SKDB (Structured Knowledge Database) is an in-progress open-source project to create a machine-readable package format for hardware designs with rigorous metadata and dependency tracking; only demo packages (screw, thread, dremelfuge) exist and the format is still immature.  
• Thingiverse is criticized as a “worse-is-better” dumping ground for CAD files, whereas SKDB aims for reproducibility at the cost of higher complexity.  
• DIY metal 3-D printing is feasible today with low-melting-point alloys and metal-deposition print heads, but high-strength metal printing still demands 40 kW lasers, vacuum chambers, and export-controlled optics.  
• The #hplusroadmap community explicitly rejects the indeterminate, sensationalist narratives of H+ Magazine and the World Transhumanist Association, positioning itself as a “determinate-outlook” space focused on engineering realities.  
• Participants dismiss techno-utopian projects (Project Venus, Zeitgeist, Google’s “solve aging” PR) as scientism that ignores engineering and socio-political constraints.