• Global DNA synthesis capacity is currently ~5 TB per year, while IARPA’s first-gen DNA storage program targets 1 TB per day, highlighting a 73× shortfall that needs to be closed.  
• Microarray oligos are 2–4 orders of magnitude cheaper than column oligos ($0.00001–$0.001 per nt), but the SynBioBeta analysis warns that published “cost” ranges do not translate directly to accessible market prices.  
• nmz787 presented SRC/HGP-Write figures showing that, in principle, 83 Gbps write speeds are possible with 10¹³ single-molecule reactions occupying only 250 cm², assuming 50 nm pitch reactors and optimized cycling.  
• Thermal stability of DNA for archival storage is being modeled with the Arrhenius equation; half-lives at 85 °C, 125 °C and 160 °C are needed to validate use-cases from desktop PCs to desert data centers.  
• A used FIB (focused-ion-beam) system was acquired via eBay for rapid prototyping of nanostructures and 3-D serial imaging of fixed cells; nmz787 notes it is more like a CNC/3-D printer than lithography and is not suited to high-volume manufacturing.  
• Pacific Northwest Microscopy Society will host a cryo-preparation workshop on 9 Nov 2017 featuring high-pressure freezing and light-sheet microscopy; attendees are encouraged to bring their own biological samples.  
• Discussion of nucleosome packing density: revised dimensions (11 nm × 11 nm × 5.5 nm) halve the previously assumed volumetric density, affecting DNA-to-storage-medium calculations.  
• George Church’s group repeatedly claims “DNA synthesis cost is no longer a bottleneck,” but participants note a lack of publicly verifiable data or open access to their synthesis pipelines.  
• A GitHub repository for solving jigsaw-puzzle-style image reconstruction (“gaps”) was shared as a potential tool for automated assembly of DNA-tile or microarray images.