- The video game *Observer* was recommended as a transhumanist horror title set in a future Krakow “Walled City,” featuring a mind-hacking detective who is repeatedly outsmarted by adversaries, prompting discussion about the limits of enhancement.  
- TransVision 2017 was noted on the schedule; participants expressed skepticism that the conference would move beyond “armchair philosophy” and lamented the absence of practicing biologists in transhumanist circles.  
- ABE (adenine base editor) was highlighted: it combines an “evolved” tRNA adenosine deaminase (TadA), a Cas9 nickase, and a guide RNA to enable precise A-to-G base editing without double-strand breaks.  
- DNA synthesis cost benchmarking was performed: IDT lists ~$0.10 per base-pair for 96/384-well plates and Ultramer oligos, while CustomArray offers 92 918 distinct 170-mers for $6 000 (~$0.0004 per base-pair), with no price drop observed since 2014.  
- Carlson Curve analogized to Moore’s Law for DNA sequencing/synthesis cost decline; links to 2014 and 2017 Church papers on large-scale de-novo DNA synthesis and genome writing were shared.  
- gp-write organizers requested current synthesis cost figures, specifically Twist Bioscience’s “preferred pricing,” to refine large-genome construction budgets.  
- Reversible computing was proposed as a near-zero-power strategy for data storage if no information is ever discarded, with DNA data storage suggested for drone-borne multi-spectral surveillance archives.  
- A debate on gene patents covered whether personal, non-commercial synthesis of patented sequences is infringement (consensus: it is), the irrelevance of “fair use” to patents, and the broader mismatch between IP law and biology.  
- HP’s Multi Jet Fusion 3-D printing process—inkjet-printing fusing agent onto polymer powder followed by high-intensity light sintering—was discussed as patent-locked, with embedded tracking codes and closed materials/drivers.  
- Shenzhen’s rapid hardware iteration culture was cited as evidence that weak patent enforcement can accelerate innovation, contrasting with claims that patents are necessary incentives for technological progress.