• A Science paper titled “Design, synthesis, and testing toward a 57-codon genome” (DOI: 10.1126/science.aaf3639) was highlighted as a key reference for synthetic-biology efforts to compress the genetic code.  
• MIT’s “ticker-tape” cellular recording system—discussed in a Reddit thread—was noted for using programmed mutations to store temporal data inside living cells, sparking curiosity about scaling the technique.  
• A light-driven, liquid-crystalline-elastomer soft robot that mimics caterpillar locomotion at natural scale was shared (Wiley paper DOI: 10.1002/adom.201600503), illustrating advances in untethered, optically controlled soft robotics.  
• Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s integration of real-time simulation with nanoscale 3-D printing experiments was circulated, along with a video and ORNL press release, showing progress in closed-loop additive manufacturing at sub-micron resolution.  
• Links to practical machine-learning engineering were posted: static compilation of Caffe models via liblikely, TensorFlow-to-LLVM JIT code generation, and an RNN best-practice guide for TensorFlow.  
• The NixOS “Nix pills” compact edition tutorial was recommended as an introduction to reproducible software deployment for scientific workflows.  
• A Hacker News thread on EpiPen manufacturing costs was circulated, framing it as a case study in open-source medical-device production challenges.  
• A preprint on the history of dark-matter research (arXiv:1605.04909) was shared for background reading on long-term physics uncertainties.