- Zyvex Labs has demonstrated a MEMS-based scanning tunneling microscope (STM) with 1 degree of freedom, suggesting that a top-down approach to atomically precise manufacturing may be gaining traction.  
- ngauge already sells commercial MEMS atomic-force microscopes (AFMs); adding a wire to the tip and a trans-impedance amplifier effectively converts them into STMs, offering a near-term path to high-speed imaging.  
- nmz787 has fully funded and ordered a Stromlinet AFM; he plans to upgrade it for high-speed STM operation using STM development boards and expects to increase the field of view by driving the probe-tip piezo to ±50 V.  
- A new batch of Bitcoin Core developer transcripts was published, covering package relay, P2P encryption (BIP-324), FROST threshold signatures, Stratum-v2 mining, hac-spec formal verification, and research wish-lists.  
- The channel debated the merits of Yudkowsky’s “Sequences” versus Pirsig’s “Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance” as philosophy texts, with a consensus against recommending the Sequences.  
- Examine.com has paywalled its literature-review tables behind a subscription, prompting discussion about scraping and redistributing the data for open access.  
- Participants criticized the proliferation of low-contrast “dark themes” and the broader cultural trend in which simple tasks like displaying readable text or building nuclear power have become harder despite advancing technology.