- An open-source γ-ray/X-ray detector project is being designed around a reverse-biased BPW34 PIN photodiode (17 pF) paired with ultra-low-noise amplifiers; participants recommend bandwidth-limiting to the RC time constant, using fA/√Hz op-amps, and following Analog Devices MT-047 and TI SLYT094 noise-analysis guides, with calibration against Am-241 or K-40 sources.  
- The same thread distinguishes between spectroscopy (needs single-pulse resolution at low count rates) and dosimetry (works at high rates where pulses overlap), and points to opengeiger.de schematics, Vishay datasheets, and EDN’s femtoampere-circuit series as reproducible starting points.  
- FDA approval of Kite Pharma’s $375 k CAR-T therapy (axi-cel) is highlighted as a watershed moment for gene-altering cancer immunotherapy.  
- A flywheel-energy-storage brainstorm explores replacing vacuum containment with pressurized superfluid or air bearings to add inward pressure, enabling higher rotor speeds without stronger rotor materials; skeptics note that buried utility-scale flywheels already prioritize $/J over energy density and suggest superconducting magnetic bearings or compulsators instead.  
- For automotive use, a small flywheel sized for one full-speed stop could cut urban trip energy ~30× on stop-start routes, but gyroscopic torque and bearing limits (≤10 atm air, ≤4 atm²/T maglev) remain barriers; garbage trucks already profit from hydraulic regenerative braking, showing the value of high-cycle recovery even with losses.  
- Eric Drexler & Adam Marblestone’s 2009 paper “Creating a self-assembling biomolecular device capable of functioning as a 3-D printer with 1 nm resolution” is shared, arguing that atomic-precision manufacturing can exploit self-assembly rather than single-atom manipulation.  
- A Nature Biotechnology paper presents >20 single-chain polyhedral protein cages (tetrahedron, four-sided pyramid, triangular prism up to 11 nm) that self-assemble in vitro, in bacteria, mammalian cells, and mice; an automated design platform and CC building-block toolbox let users convert any 3-D model into a protein cage.  
- Three recent nucleic-acid regulation papers are circulated: strand-displacement circuits for real-time aptamer-ligand switching, STAR RNAs yielding 9 000-fold gene activation, and the citizen-science game “Neo” for crowdsourced neuron tracing in mouse visual cortex.  
- A resource list for open-source biology patent defense is compiled, including the BioBricks Public Domain Chronicle, OpenMTA, Defensive Patent License, Open Invention Network, RPX, Red Hat Patent Promise, LOT Network, and OpenTimestamps.org for immutable prior-art timestamping.