- TTP Ventus showcased proprietary piezo-electric microfluidic print-heads aimed at biological applications, but access requires a paid two-day training course and a ~$20 k development kit, highlighting the high “biotech markup” on inkjet components.  
- Participants debated the practicality and cost of commercial inkjet bioprinting, with estimates of 1 000–10 000 % price inflation over comparable industrial parts and frustration over vendor secrecy.  
- A large-scale extraction of Addgene plasmid data was underway; progress updates (“8 %… 16 %… 27 %…”) were posted, and annoyance was voiced at sequence information being stored only in low-resolution JPEG images rather than plain text or GenBank files.  
- Chemistry World published a step-by-step feature on modern DNA synthesis, including an interview with a channel regular (yashgaroth) about Nuclera’s enzymatic approach; the article’s figures and funding numbers were noted to be slightly out of date.  
- GP-Write project updates were shared via a recorded talk (Joseph Muldoon, 4 Apr 2018) and a Nature Biotechnology graphic illustrating the leap from 200-base to >800 k-base nanopore/PacBio read lengths.  
- The 2017 BOKU-Vienna iGEM project on “in-vivo directed evolution” using reverse transcription and retrotransposons was highlighted as a novel method for continuous protein engineering inside living cells.  
- News circulated that the startup Nectome, previously known for proposing “100 % fatal” aldehyde-based brain preservation in living humans, publicly retreated to focusing only on donated cadaver brains after widespread criticism.  
- A brief discussion questioned whether the mechanosynthesis pathways outlined in Drexler’s Nanosystems remain the most credible route to atomically precise manufacturing.