- HashiCorp’s new infrastructure-as-code tool Terraform and the service-discovery stack Consul/Serf were evaluated for provisioning cloud resources and dynamic configuration, with kanzure weighing envconsul versus direct Consul-agent queries.  
- OpenWorm migrated its real-time chat to irc.snoonet.org/#OpenWorm and released PyOpenWorm alpha 0.5 (https://github.com/openworm/PyOpenWorm/tree/alpha0.5) as the current reference codebase for modeling C. elegans.  
- For 3-D scientific visualization, VTK and Mayavi2 were recommended over matplotlib for richer, GPU-accelerated rendering in research workflows.  
- A slide deck from the FBI on open-source DNA synthesis (http://diyhpl.us/~bryan/nucleic/fbi-diybio-dna-v1.pdf) and a teardown of an ABI 391 DNA synthesizer (http://diyhpl.us/~bryan/papers2/DNA/abi391/) were shared, estimating DIY reagent costs at $2–5 k and highlighting the gap between academic and industry compensation as a driver of bio-brain-drain.  
- The “Kilobaser” desktop DNA synthesizer was criticized for branding itself “open-source” while using a CC-BY-NC license, illustrating tension over non-commercial clauses in open hardware.  
- A Nature Nanotechnology paper (DOI: 10.1038/nnano.2010.128) on light-driven plasmonic nanomotors—gold nanostructures that convert optical torque into mechanical rotation—was circulated with an open-access PDF, pointing toward wireless nano-actuation.  
- The DropBot open-source digital microfluidics platform (microfluidics.utoronto.ca/dropbot) was showcased, offering electrostatic droplet control, real-time velocity feedback, and full OSHW documentation mirrored on diyhpl.us.