- Russia’s new “genetic military passports” and a broader Kremlin decree on “genetic certification of the population” were discussed as potential tools for sorting military recruits into “fighters vs. thinkers,” prompting skepticism about whether genotyping can outperform traditional aptitude tests.  
- Forbes, Technology Review, Reason, and other outlets were circulating pro–gene-editing op-eds (“Don’t Be Scared of Designer Babies,” “The Case for Designer Babies”), indicating a coordinated push to normalize human germline engineering.  
- Harvard Medical School released a public list of “protective alleles for superhuman traits” (http://arep.med.harvard.edu/gmc/protect.html) that could serve as a starting point for CRISPR-based enhancement.  
- A $10 million “Evolution 2.0” prize (https://www.herox.com/evolution2.0) was announced, challenging researchers to solve the origin-of-DNA information-encoding problem.  
- NASA ADS replaced its classic interface with a JavaScript-heavy web app, triggering complaints from channel members about creeping “brain damage” and the need for an anti-JavaScript advocacy group.  
- goTenna launched Global Mesh Labs and released the open-source Lot49 protocol for incentivized mesh networking, though participants noted that real-world meshes still require expensive high-elevation backhaul.  
- A traffic-stop robot concept (GoBetween Robotics) was shared as a dystopian example of automated policing, with the statistic that 200,000 U.S. motorists annually experience physical force during stops.  
- uBiome’s reported $600 million valuation was highlighted as a cautionary tale amid ongoing discussions about microbiome-testing startups.