- Argonne National Lab’s Advanced Photon Source (APS) is being explored as a non-destructive, whole-brain imaging platform: low-dose synchrotron X-rays may allow rapid 3-D mapping without slicing, complementing electron-microscopy resolution limits.  
- A new “dark fire” speculative-physics disaster scenario is outlined in which baryonic matter could be autocatalytically converted to dark matter; the paper argues that astronomical evidence and charge-neutralization constraints currently rule it out, highlighting epistemic challenges in physics risk assessment.  
- Anders Sandberg’s pre-print “Energetics of the brain and AI” (arXiv:1602.04019) argues that de-novo AI energy requirements are unlikely to correlate with brain-emulation costs, since higher-level representations may compress computation far below the ~20 W metabolic budget of biology.  
- Russell Hanson’s talk “Intersection of neuroscience and deep learning” (YouTube, Feb 2016) was highlighted as a valuable overview of how connectomic data and machine-learning architectures inform one another.  
- JetPress papers discussed: (a) cryopreservation of embryos/fetuses as a future family-planning option, and (b) a concept for “neuronanorobots” that could non-invasively map and monitor the living human connectome.  
- DIY microfluidics fabrication techniques were debated: off-the-shelf 405 nm Blu-ray optical heads repurposed with GRBL/Arduino controllers can achieve sub-µm spot sizes suitable for exposing photoresist or etching microchannels in acrylic; $100 kits like DiyoPCB-MKI were recommended.  
- A portable DSO Nano v3 oscilloscope was praised for safely debugging power-supply and high-voltage circuits without risking more expensive lab gear.  
- Community critique of Grindhouse Wetware centered on their failure to use known biocompatible coatings, leading to magnet implants that caused tissue necrosis.