- A new Nature paper “Modular, programmable RNA sensing using ADAR editing in living cells” was shared, along with a Twitter thread by Elliot Hershberg summarizing the work.  
- Discussion of open-source DNA-sequence tools: participants recommended BioPython for extracting Open Reading Frames from arbitrary DNA sequences.  
- Deep dive into the 1961 CDC 6600 supercomputer: lkcl highlighted its 2-stage FPU pipeline, all-SR-latch design (2 transistors vs 10-gate DFFs), and use of rising/falling-edge clocks to save gates; muurkha noted the schematics use DCTL/RTL, not ECL.  
- Extensive technical exchange on DIY optical encoders: fenn and muurkha compared laser vs inkjet printing on transparency film, moiré averaging, pseudorandom (LFSR) codes for absolute positioning, and trade-offs between analog vs digital (edge-timing) feedback for CNC velocity control.  
- Links to fenn’s 2009 “Made from Scratch” wiki and archived TAOS “CHEAP-ENC” design doc (132-photodiode absolute encoder) were circulated.  
- Hackaday post and Edwin Hwu comment showcased repurposing DVD/Blu-ray optical pickup units (OPUs) for 3-D printing, pico-Newton force sensing, atomic-resolution scanning-probe microscopy, and biosensing, with supporting Nature, Elsevier, and ACS papers.  
- nmz787 requested help containerizing the MPW7 chip-design flow; muurkha suggested Docker over VirtualBox for ease, but noted X11 GUI issues.  
- VisionFive 2 RISC-V single-board computer (USD 56+) was announced for pre-order and linked on Hacker News.