• The channel debated whether biology needs a “Grothendieck or Hilbert” to provide rigorous mathematical foundations, with cybernetics cited as a possible framework.  
• nmz787 released an open-source microfluidics-CAD repository (https://github.com/nmz787/microfluidic-cad/) and argued that NURBS-based geometry preserves accuracy while mesh-based intersections accumulate fabrication errors; kanzure noted that BRL-CAD already implements native NURBS-to-NURBS math in C++ but lacks Python bindings.  
• A $2 750 SEM/EDX system “needing work” in Seattle was flagged as a potential bargain, and participants recalled prior fixes for UK-to-US voltage mismatches in lab equipment.  
• Discussion converged on the idea that a curated library of standard microfluidic components would be more useful for laminar-flow designs than general-purpose CAD, addressing recurring DIYbio complaints about CAD usability.  
• Cambrian Genomics’ plan to let customers “create creatures” was linked from an SFGate article; the group dismissed accompanying bioethics criticism as uninformed fear-mongering and lamented the absence of well-funded counter-ethicists.  
• Vannevar Bush’s 1945 “As We May Think” essay was re-circulated as a foundational text for hypertext, collective memory, and networked knowledge augmentation.  
• Participants expressed skepticism about Beijing Genomics Institute, citing rumored data-quality issues and ITAR-related funding restrictions.  
• A DIY antibody-production brainstorm compared goats versus rabbits for polyclonal or monoclonal generation, weighing land, animal care, and revenue models against Santa Cruz Biotech’s 841-goat, 44 k-acre operation.  
• A 10 k sq ft elementary school on 1.1 acres listed at $395 k was proposed as a potential biohacker space, following precedents of machinist conventions repurposing schools for workshops.