- Aldehyde-stabilized cryopreservation (ASC) is positioned as the current best method for whole-brain connectome preservation; Robert McIntyre’s ASC-processed rabbit and pig brains are under formal evaluation for the Brain Preservation Prize, and his new company Nectome aims to deliver a verified human brain-preservation protocol within ten years as the first step toward industrial-scale mind uploading.

- Nectome’s staged verification roadmap: (1) achieve high-fidelity structural preservation, (2) confirm retention of memory-relevant molecules (CaMKII, neurotransmitters, ion channels, DNA, myelin), and (3) use FIB-SEM imaging plus circuit simulation to demonstrate functional preservation, citing a 2003 paper showing that dendritic-spine morphology alone can predict synaptic strength.

- Participants emphasized that contemporary neural-network simulations capture synaptic plasticity and long-term potentiation but still omit epigenetic methylation and gene-regulatory dynamics that shape real neural circuits; key papers on synaptic diversity (Stephen Smith’s neurexin/protocadherin combinatorial codes and arXiv:1410.8826 on “atoms of neural computation”) were shared to highlight the missing biological detail.

- Novel neuromodulation concepts discussed include phased-array ultrasound for reversible, sub-millimeter neural silencing via ultrasound-sensitive proteins, and engineered microbial cysts that release specific neurotransmitters under ultrasound control, enabling both spatially precise chemical stimulation and functional brain mapping.

- A “Big List O’ Ideas” (aurellem.org/thoughts/html/good-ideas.html) circulated speculative bioengineering proposals such as evolving symbiotic bacteria to protect human tissues from freezing damage, alongside cryonics brainstorming on importing trehalose synthesis pathways, endothelial resistance to rapid-cooling persufflation, and nanoparticle perfusion for thermal conductivity and structural support.

- The group debated the practical difficulty of total human extinction, concluding that distributed infrastructure, deep-crust shelters, and closed-loop life-support systems would likely preserve survivors even after planetary-scale catastrophes.

- Additional links and studies shared: MIT Technology Review coverage of a human-inspired AI algorithm that learns simple tasks as rapidly as people, and a probiotic study (Lactobacillus curvatus/plantarum) demonstrating reduced adiposity and Lp-PLA2 activity in overweight subjects.