- A “two-virus system” was proposed for producing non-replicating, human-ingestible viral vectors in an external bioreactor instead of in vivo, aiming to bypass the need for large-scale manufacturing infrastructure.  
- The “chemosynthetic liver” platform from Empiriko (http://www.empiriko.com/media/empiriko-company.pdf) was highlighted as a bench-top device that emulates human cytochrome P450 metabolism for rapid, comprehensive drug-metabolite profiling.  
- Facebook’s newly announced brain–computer interface effort (TechCrunch, 19 Apr 2017) targets silent-speech typing at 100 wpm via “non-invasive neuroimaging” (optical, RF, ultrasound, etc.); channel members questioned the technical maturity of optical infrared approaches.  
- Discussion of open-source bio-design tools noted that Autodesk appears to have removed public access to the Genetic Constructor source code; participants scrambled to recover local copies and lamented the loss of commit history.  
- A surplus Seiko SMI-3200 focused-ion-beam (FIB) system listed on eBay for $1,500 (previously offered free to nonprofits) sparked debate over DIY acquisition, shipping logistics, and potential garage nanofab applications.  
- Nanoracks’ commercial microgravity research facilities (http://nanoracks.com/products/) were shared as an accessible route for low-cost space-based biology and materials experiments.  
- Participants estimated that ~30 complete human genomes are currently available on NCBI, raising questions about how fully these datasets capture non-nuclear or structural DNA.  
- Uplifting corvids—specifically making crows smarter or more communicative—was floated as an intriguing neuro-enhancement project, accompanied by anecdotal evidence from a member living with a pet crow.