• Google released deeplearn.js, a browser-based machine-learning framework, while earlier community project keras-js was not acknowledged, highlighting tensions between corporate and open-source ML efforts.

• A Nature paper achieved the first complete in-vitro reconstitution of the mouse female germ-line cycle, producing functional oocytes from stem cells—a milestone for reproductive biology and potential human applications.

• A GWAS of 280,360 individuals identified 99 loci linked to general cognitive function, explaining ~4 % of variance; debate followed on why twin studies show up to 80 % heritability while common SNPs capture so little, pointing to missing heritability and prenatal environment.

• George Church’s lab and startup Molecular Assemblies demonstrated enzymatic, template-free DNA synthesis, a key step toward ultra-high-density DNA data storage; SRC’s SemiSynBio roadmap claims 1 kg of DNA could store ~2 × 10¹⁸ Mbit, exceeding projected 2035 global demand.

• Futurist discussion explored scaling ink-jet DNA synthesis to gigaprinter concepts: 1 billion-nozzle heads, 30 nm pitch, 100 million drops s⁻¹ demonstrated by Kyocera, with open research gaps in multiplexed reagent routing.

• The BRAIN Initiative was framed as a U.S. public-private effort on par with the Human Genome Project, Apollo, and the Manhattan Project, targeting 2016–2020 for technology validation and 2020–2025 for integrated deployment to map and modulate neural circuits.

• A “DNA ticker-tape” neural recording scheme was proposed: calcium-dependent error rates in DNA polymerase would encode neuronal activity into enzymatically synthesized DNA strands, creating a molecular activity log readable by sequencing.

• Complementary work suggests using large-scale DNA sequencing for rapid, high-resolution connectome mapping, potentially integrating with the ticker-tape approach for simultaneous activity and wiring data.

• NIH funding opportunities RFA-NS-16-006 and RFA-NS-17-004 were highlighted for developing transformative technologies for large-scale neural recording and modulation, with official resources at https://braininitiative.nih.gov/resources/publication.aspx and https://braininitiative.nih.gov/2025/index.htm.