- A parasitic vine, Boquila trifoliolata, appears to mimic the leaves of nearby plants—even artificial plastic ones—suggesting a primitive form of plant “vision” or environmental sensing (paper: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/15592324.2021.1977530).  
- nmz787 is building a low-cost STM32G491-based AFM controller: 33 MHz digital-pin toggling in MicroPython, DAC/ADC loopback verified, and plans to synchronize ADC+DMA via timer for high-speed feedback.  
- Piezo-actuator linearization techniques were debated: driving with charge pulses (current-source integrators) rather than voltage reduces hysteresis; PWM/PDM and sine-wave scanning at cantilever resonance were proposed as digital-friendly alternatives.  
- A 2006 paper on “A driving method of piezoelectric actuator by using current pulses” (https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/0957-0233/17/9/003) was highlighted as showing markedly lower hysteresis via charge-pulse control.  
- David Liu’s Broad Institute seminar on base editing and prime editing was shared (video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6tHs6_l2hSY), along with Twitter critiques comparing prime editing efficiency to Tessera’s Gene Writing platform.  
- The Hedonistic Imperative (https://www.hedweb.com/) and a splinter negative-utilitarian idea of eliminating animal suffering by eradicating all animals sparked discussion on measuring and engineering away wild-animal pain.