• Fabric8Labs’ electrochemical 3-D printer was rediscovered: it uses a TFT backplane as an addressable electrode array to electroplate metal voxel-by-voxel, eliminating powders and lasers and promising micron-scale metal parts at lower cost.  
• Participants debated the breadth of Fabric8’s patent (filed 2016, expires 2036), arguing it covers any electrochemical additive manufacturing on a grid and could block open-source or DIY implementations.  
• Technical concerns raised include achievable deposition speed at larger build footprints, the cost and fluid-flow design of the consumable cathode base, and whether TFT backplanes supply enough voltage (tens of volts) for microfluidic or electro-wetting applications.  
• A yeast-based directed-evolution protocol was shared: emulsion droplets carry a gene library upstream of a thermostable polymerase; successful induction of a GPCR target drives polymerase expression, enabling colony PCR without exogenous enzyme to identify functional variants.  
• Links referenced: Fabric8Labs company site, their T3 pitch video, a ScienceDirect review on emulsion-based directed evolution, and a one-hour open COVID-19 test protocol on protocols.io.