- Radar evidence of a stable 20-km-wide subglacial liquid-water lake 1.5 km beneath the south polar ice cap of Mars was published in Science (DOI: 10.1126/science.aar7268).  
- Pew Research released survey data showing more Americans expect downsides than upsides from gene-editing human babies.  
- DIYhpluswiki was updated with new pages on SCN9A loss-of-function mutants for congenital analgesia and on blood-related genetic modifications.  
- NuProbe, a diagnostics spin-out from Peng Yin’s lab, is commercializing DNA toehold-probe systems for ultra-sensitive nucleic-acid detection instead of pursuing DNA-origami nanorobotics.  
- AgeX Therapeutics (Michael West) released a slide deck describing “induced tissue regeneration” as a platform for partial epigenetic reprogramming to reverse age-related tissue dysfunction.  
- Oisin Biotechnologies (mentioned in context of senolytics) is developing lipid-nanoparticle-delivered suicide-gene therapy to clear senescent cells.  
- A Nature Nanotechnology paper (2011) on nanochannel electroporation was highlighted as a method to deliver exact quantities of biomolecules into living cells via silicon nanoneedles.  
- Demonpore, a Y Combinator-backed project, is building actuatable nanopores likened to the iris doors in the film Independence Day for single-molecule sensing applications.  
- Sam Zeloof’s home photolithography efforts were cited as the most impressive hobbyist semiconductor-fabrication project to date.  
- A biology factoid circulated: herpesviruses hijack neuronal transport by disabling dynein motors on mitochondria and commandeering kinesin motors, allowing viral capsids to travel ~400× faster than diffusion.