- A 2018 neuroscience year-in-review article was shared, highlighting advances across brain-computer interfaces, optogenetics, and whole-brain imaging technologies.  
- Discussion of corrosion prevention for submerged electronics: chloride ions are the primary threat; cathodic protection (negative voltage or sacrificial zinc) is more effective than simply raising pH.  
- Addgene’s blog post on the “CRISPR babies” scandal argued that the field needs proactive governance and transparent standards rather than blanket moratoriums.  
- Two high-impact Nature papers were circulated: one on “Programmable design of orthogonal protein heterodimers” for synthetic biology circuits, and another on “Brain-wide circuit interrogation at the cellular level” using real-time neuronal function analysis.  
- The GP-Write project released a sparse roadmap (http://arep.med.harvard.edu/gmc/GPW_Comm.html) seeking ~$200 M; participants criticized it as under-detailed and questioned the team’s ability to allocate funds effectively.  
- Expansion microscopy was spotlighted in a Nature Methods review, emphasizing its growing role in super-resolution imaging of intact biological specimens.  
- Kurzweil’s forthcoming book “The Singularity Is Nearer” was announced, prompting skepticism about timelines and hype.  
- Conversation turned to animal language studies: Kanzi the bonobo’s lexigram use, and Irene Pepperberg’s work with Alex the African grey parrot, noting that parrots’ spoken-language mimicry can make cognition experiments more accessible to general audiences.