• Open-source CAD discussion: juri_ and nmz787 debugged ImplicitCAD STL generation, discovering that disabling triangle-joining (to avoid a bug) and high-resolution settings (-r 10) can exhaust 64 GB of RAM on simple models, raising scalability concerns for large designs.

• Reel-to-reel contact lithography recalled: fenn located a 2009 Eoplex white-paper describing a high-volume “High-Volume Print Forming” process that uses rotary stamp wheels and multiple inorganic inks to mass-produce miniature ceramic/metal 3-D electronic components, followed by sintering.

• SHANEL tissue-clearing breakthrough: kanzure highlighted two 2020 papers—Cell “Cellular and molecular probing of intact human organs” and arXiv “Organizing genome engineering for the gigabase scale”—detailing SHANEL’s detergent-based method that renders whole adult human brain and kidney optically transparent for centimeter-depth 3-D antibody labeling and rapid deep-learning cell segmentation on standard hardware.

• DIY vaccine debate: maaku and others weighed the ethics and legality of self-manufacturing a COVID-19 vaccine, motivated by frequent international travel and the principle that individuals should be free to create and use their own prophylactics; distribution, not personal use, is the likely legal barrier.

• Low-cost diagnostics pivot: nmz787 reported that a vacuumhackers member (piGuy) rapidly adapted an existing low-cost, possibly isothermal microfluidic HIV assay into a COVID-19 test, emphasizing injection-molded plastic and high-volume manufacturability as key advantages over standard PCR.