- A new Nature paper proposes “Efficient DNA-based data storage using short-mer combinatorial encoding,” offering a potentially denser and cheaper route to archival DNA storage.  
- IEEE paper on a field-programmable AM-EWOD (digital-microfluidics) chip is highlighted: 82.6 × 44.6 mm², 179 200 pixels (4× larger than prior art), built with mass-produced a-Si:H TFTs running 20 V on / 0 V off, aimed at high-throughput droplet-array manipulation for lab-on-chip applications.  
- Annual Reviews article on “Robotic Self-Replication” by Matt Moses & Greg Chirikjian is circulated as a key reference for open-source work on autonomous machine replication.  
- Experimental anticancer small-molecule PCNA inhibitor AOH1996 (Phase I at City of Hope) sparks debate: supporters cite broad cancer-cell apoptosis in vitro; skeptics warn of black-market sales, placebo-level efficacy, and exploitation of terminal patients.  
- Conversation touches on broader cancer-therapy philosophy—surgical excision plus organ replacement vs. systemic molecular intervention—and the ethics of last-ditch drug access.