• Harvard/SEAS demonstrated sub-wavelength focusing with 600 nm-thick TiO₂ nanopillar “metalenses,” prompting debate over diffractive vs. refractive physics and speculation on MEMS integration and DIY fabrication via LIGA or Blu-ray laser etching.

• The Human Genome Project–Write initiative (Church, Boeke et al.) launched with a $100 M Autodesk-backed budget aiming for 1,000× cost reduction in 0.1–100 Gb genome synthesis within 10 years, beginning with 1 % of the human genome, while Drew Endy publicly dissented.

• C2c2, a single-component RNA-guided CRISPR effector targeting RNA, was highlighted as a new programmable tool for transcriptome engineering.

• NASA’s open-source Evolutionary Mission Trajectory Generator (EMTG) and SPICE toolkit were discussed for interplanetary trajectory optimization, though some propulsion models remain restricted.

• A cluster of 2016 Bitcoin-privacy papers—TumbleBit, CoinShuffle++, zero-knowledge contingent payments—was collected and shared, marking a concentrated advance in on-chain anonymity techniques.

• “Antikernel,” a formally verified microkernel for resilient embedded systems, was circulated as a decentralized secure hardware-software OS architecture.

• Made In Space received funding to investigate converting asteroids into self-assembling spacecraft catapults, framed as a step toward in-space replicators.

• Andrew Pelling’s lab demonstrated “Re-Purposed 46,” using apple cellulose scaffolds to culture living human tissue without genetic engineering, offering a low-cost, open-source 3-D mammalian cell-culture platform (PLOS ONE paper linked).

• Community workshops announced: Amsterdam hormone-extraction session, Seattle build-your-own SpikerBox neural recording workshop, and Oakland’s ongoing “evolved bacterial sunscreen” project.

• nmz787_i reported progress on a custom 2 mm-diameter metalens with 0.725 mm focal length, debugging pillar spacing in the open-source layout.