- CRISPR in humans is moving from lab to clinic: MIT Technology Review predicts 2018 will see the first in-body CRISPR therapies, while the FDA has just approved Luxturna, the first in-vivo gene-therapy for a form of inherited blindness.  
- Pet-cloning IP theft: participants note that Korean lab Sooam has allegedly been cloning pets without licenses, copying proprietary methods from Intrexon-owned ViaGen Pets.  
- Embryo screening as “life-extension workaround”: one member plans to use IVF plus pre-implantation genetic diagnosis to select embryos with the highest predicted cognitive scores and lowest disease risk, leveraging a corporate benefit that covers $20–40 k of IVF costs.  
- Discussion frames embryo selection as more humane than later-term abortion for avoiding Down syndrome and other genetic disorders, explicitly referencing the film Gattaca.  
- Open-science tool shared: GitHub repository pycroscopy—Python utilities for analyzing nanoscale imaging data—was offered as a resource for DIY bio-imaging projects.  
- Nature commentary “Biohackers can boost trust in biology” was circulated but received a lukewarm “meh” from the channel.  
- Wired article on Silicon Valley “immortalists” (Thiel, de Grey, etc.) was linked as an overview of current longevity-startup culture.  
- Speech-recognition skepticism: Hacker News thread “Speech Recognition Is Not Solved” was flagged, reinforcing doubts about near-term conversational AI.