• A 3.6-Å cryo-EM structure of the yeast spliceosome was announced, providing the first near-atomic view of the pre-mRNA splicing machinery and validating single-particle cryo-EM as a high-resolution structural-biology tool (link: Tsinghua University news release).  
• Discussion of the poor commercial track-record of aging-research startups: fewer than a dozen companies since 1933, most bankrupt; only three exits (IKARIA, FoldRx, Sirtris), with Sirtris’s $720 M GSK acquisition viewed as a scientific failure that damaged investor confidence in geroscience.  
• Calico was cited as a counter-example, with participants noting Art Levinson’s prior success at Genentech (sold to Roche for ≈ $100 B) as reason to bet on its long-term viability.  
• A PLOS ONE paper on simulated microgravity MRI data was shared, showing measurable changes in human gray- and white-matter volume after short-duration bed-rest, relevant to space-medicine and brain-plasticity research.  
• A debate on “very-near-normal” hydrocephalics (VNBs) questioned why large human brains persist if 5 % of tissue can yield normal IQ, weighing metabolic cost, childbirth selection pressures, and the possibility that high-IQ processing may require similar energy regardless of gray-matter volume.  
• Hardware hacking: a laser-cutter method for de-encapsulating ICs was linked (jamiecraig.com), with discussion of its safety versus fuming-nitric acid decapsulation and its impact on reading security fuses.  
• Open-source PCR options were compared—OpenPCR, Open qPCR (ChaiBio), and a proposed DIY capillary-gel electrophoresis setup for low-cost amplicon length verification.  
• AcademicTorrents.com was highlighted as a BitTorrent-based distribution system for large scientific datasets and papers.  
• Elizabeth Moon’s novel “The Speed of Dark” was recommended (PDF hosted on fennetic.net) for its exploration of neurodiversity and potential cognitive enhancement, despite one participant’s concern over perceived religious themes.