- Richard Smalley’s late-life anti-Darwinist creationism was surfaced, reframing his famous critique of Drexlerian nanotechnology and prompting discussion of how creationist arguments about abiogenesis can shape skepticism toward molecular assemblers.  
- A Fermi-paradox argument was advanced: if abiogenesis probability is extremely low, a sterile galaxy except for Earth is the default expectation; finding a second, independent origin of life would be more surprising than finding none.  
- Micro- and nano-scale chemistry design constraints were explored: temperature excursions become impractical below millimetre scales, so future synthesis pathways may rely on pH, redox potential, photolysis, or mechanical pressure instead of heat.  
- Catalytic nucleic acids—ribozymes, DNAzymes, deoxyribozymes, and aptamers—were introduced as programmable, metal-ion-dependent catalysts that could serve as functional components in protein- or nucleic-acid-based mechanical computers.  
- Spiroligomers (bis-peptide synthetic oligomers) were highlighted for their predictable folding, enzymatic potential, and recent use in atomically precise macrocycle membranes for molecular sieving and cost-reduced separations.  
- Aerographite, an ultra-light sp²-carbon foam (~0.18 mg cm⁻³, 6× lighter than air), was analyzed for vacuum-balloon or buoyant-structure applications; its 15 kPa Young’s modulus and 1 kPa ultimate strength limit free-hanging lengths to ~570 m.  
- A longevity-industry landscape image was shared, cataloguing current start-ups and research programs focused on extending healthy human lifespan.  
- An alternative funding model for rare-disease therapeutics was proposed: capitalize desperate parents as investors/entrepreneurs, leveraging vertical integration and platform technologies that also address common diseases.  
- Sociotechnical discussion on reversing declining birth rates centered on “creche technology” (large-scale, high-tech communal childcare) and economies of scale in multi-adult parenting arrangements, referencing Heinlein’s group-marriage concepts and modern poly-parent legal precedents.