- A new Science paper reports that cytosine—but not adenine—base editors cause widespread off-target mutations in rice, raising safety concerns for plant and possibly human applications.  
- Channel participants debated the technical limits of current base-editing systems: only cytosine and adenine can be targeted because the method relies on deaminase enzymes that remove amine groups, and even on-target loci often contain multiple editable bases, increasing the risk of unwanted changes.  
- Discussion turned to future solutions, including the need for chromosome-level targeting accuracy and speculative ideas such as optically or acoustically steering enzymes via “resonance” or light-responsive motility gradients.  
- A participant proposed creating a formal-grammar-style catalog of genomic sequence types (promoters, operators, enhancers, etc.) to serve as a concise reference for newcomers to genomics, prompting debate over whether such grammars can capture the nonlinear, feedback-rich reality of gene regulation.  
- Clarifying questions were raised about terminology—whether “transcription factor,” “activator,” “DNA-binding protein,” and “regulatory protein” are truly synonymous—and about the physical nature of TAD (topologically associating domain) loops.  
- Building on prior discussion of TAD insulation mechanisms, a “TAD keychain hypothesis” was introduced: mRNA molecules circularize via their UTRs, thread around the DNA double helix, and are physically locked within TAD loops by boundary proteins, potentially keeping transcripts near their genes until translation is complete.  
- The University of California system’s decision to terminate its Elsevier subscription in favor of open-access publishing was celebrated as a milestone for publicly funded research.  
- A link to ResponsibleSharing.org was shared as a critique of ResearchGate’s practices.