- A new HTML5 live-coding environment for the Oculus Rift, RiftSketch, was shared (GitHub repo and demo video), enabling VR-based rapid prototyping.  
- Discussion of high-density brain-recording hardware: NeuroNexus Matrix arrays (up to 256 contacts) and MIT Boyden lab’s push toward >1,000-site optical recordings; limitations of Utah-style arrays for deep-brain or sulcus targeting were highlighted.  
- Optogenetics vs. electrical stimulation debate: only one primate study has reliably evoked saccades via opto-stimulation of the frontal eye fields, raising open questions about cellular specificity and mechanism.  
- DIY 3-D-printed smartphone microscopes using 0.5–3.5 mm glass beads (~$25 kit) were circulated, with links to PNNL tech transfer page and bead suppliers; trade-offs versus desktop scopes (fixed magnification, 1000× limit) were noted.  
- Extropian roots of Bitcoin were surfaced via a CryptoCoinsNews article, tying cypherpunk history to current cryptocurrency discourse.  
- Synthetic-biology leadership initiative LEAP (Leadership Excellence Accelerator Program) was announced, aiming to mentor emerging bio-leaders for public-interest biotech.  
- Paperbot’s open-source paywall-bypass bot was stress-tested with multiple DOI requests; intermittent LibGen link failures and fallback to diyhpl.us mirrors were observed.  
- A new Science paper on brain-wide electrode mapping was sought; users resorted to Sci-Hub when LibGen lacked the fresh article.