- Ralph Merkle and Robert Freitas continue active work on atomically-precise manufacturing (APM); a new US patent application (US20210024353A1) details how two “proto” tooltips can be fabricated with only a scanning-probe microscope and pre-patterned surfaces, after which the complete set of required tooltips can be bootstrapped from those two.  
- The APM effort is being funded by Crane Currency (a bank-note security printer), prompting discussion that a conservative, government-contracted firm provides the long-term stability needed for such high-risk R&D, even if the official justification is anti-counterfeiting nanotechnology.  
- Participants debated the strategic value of patenting APM: Merkle and Freitas have pursued IP protection for over 15 years to generate licensing revenue, while some channel members view patents as tools that mainly penalize compliant actors and are ignored by resource-limited groups.  
- A Reddit comment (linked in the log) was circulated as a recruitment pointer for C++ engineers willing to work on the APM codebase; Rust was half-jokingly proposed as a preferable language.  
- Three high-profile Nature papers were shared: ex-utero mouse embryogenesis from pre-gastrulation to late organogenesis, human blastocyst-like structures from pluripotent stem cells, and iBlastoids reprogrammed from fibroblasts—sparking jokes about Apple-style naming.  
- Side threads covered open-source FPGA advocacy, the cognitive load of keeping up with accelerating technical complexity, and a satirical prediction that post-coal-ban “Freedom Ships” could become floating crypto-mining rigs powered by their own coal-smoke clouds.