- A new study from Anatol Kreitzer’s lab used Inscopix’s nVoke platform to perform simultaneous calcium imaging and optogenetics, demonstrating that striatal Fast-Spiking Interneurons regulate motor learning (not motor execution) via feed-forward inhibition of medium spiny neurons.  
- Human fertility research advanced with the first report of growing metaphase-II oocytes from unilaminar follicles entirely in vitro using a multi-step culture system (MHR paper).  
- A Washington Post article on bioethics and a Technology Review piece covered Ascendance Biomedical CEO Aaron Traywick injecting himself on-stage with a DIY gene-therapy construct intended to treat herpes.  
- Bitcoin protocol discussion centered on Taproot: claims that Taproot “fully subsumes Bitcoin script” were countered with the argument that an explicit script VM may still be required for extensible user-programmable covenants and non-blockchain signing applications.  
- George Church’s new venture (discussed on Hacker News) is applying cryptographic techniques to genomics; Nebula Genomics was cited as a similar company in the same space.  
- Remote-access electron microscopy services were highlighted via the EMtrix facility at the University of Montana, offering cloud-based EM for external researchers.  
- The Arch Mission Foundation’s payload on Falcon Heavy was noted; it continues the tradition of sending long-term data archives (akin to the Long Now Foundation’s Rosetta disc on the ESA Rosetta probe).  
- A LibreOffice remote arbitrary-file-disclosure vulnerability (CVE-2018-6871) was shared, along with a Bitcoin Magazine article on Greg Maxwell’s Taproot proposal and a critical HN thread on crypto-gene startups.