• CRISPR/Cas9 is now being applied to directly mutate cancer genes in mouse livers (Nature 2014) and to excise latent HIV-1 proviral DNA from human T-lymphoid cells (Nature Scientific Reports 2016), challenging the need for traditional “shock-and-kill” latency-reversal strategies when the viral genome is chromatin-bound.

• Historical context for CRISPR-based HIV eradication was provided by referencing a 2007 Max-Planck study that used an evolved recombinase to excise integrated provirus, illustrating the evolution from recombinase to CRISPR approaches.

• Advanced microscopy techniques discussed include electron energy-loss spectroscopy (EELS), serial block-face SEM, electron microprobe, cryo-electron tomography, and synchrotron SAXS at Lawrence Berkeley’s Advanced Light Source, with cryo methods highlighted for suppressing molecular jitter to achieve atomic-resolution imaging without crystals.

• A participant is pursuing open-source microfluidics fabrication using PCB-style processes, aiming to deliver working devices within the year despite slow progress.

• A theoretical-biology paper on “scale-free flow of life” was shared, proposing that nonequilibrium thermodynamics can resolve paradoxes in molecular and cell biology and unify phenomena from proteins to economies.

• Bitcoin wallet mechanics were dissected: raw text-file wallets can be handed off but risk backup breakage; self-to-self transactions still incur network fees; Electrum’s “sweep keys” and “send” interfaces enforce dust limits; and a 1 BTC payment with a 0.00001 BTC fee (txid aee2320b6e9bb536e83a331675eb3712c7cec8655cc41c86e048b0796aa7c2eb) remained unconfirmed after 30 minutes, illustrating fee-driven prioritization.

• Privacy and UX issues in Bitcoin wallets were debated: address reuse deanonymizes transaction graphs; Mycelium’s Android client forces camera-only private-key entry without OCR or manual input; and dynamic fee estimation tools like bitcoinfees.21.co (suggesting 30 sat/byte) contrast with Electrum’s static approach.