• NASA is exploring “photophoretic propulsion” using light-driven forces on aerosol particles to create ultra-light, self-deploying balloons and structures for mesosphere exploration and future space construction, as detailed in a 2024 AIAA paper and an arXiv pre-print.  
• A new RSC paper describes using adamantane-based molecular tripods to tailor the electronic states of single molecules, offering a route toward atomically precise device engineering.  
• Researchers have successfully used sugar “lost-wax” investment casting (jmil style) to fabricate microvascular scaffolds for growing brain organoids, validating the technique for organoid and potentially larger organ engineering.  
• Discussion of self-sovereign identity (SSI) systems highlighted critical essays arguing that current SSI approaches risk dystopian outcomes and may not achieve acceptably non-dystopian governance.  
• A couple left their careers to become citizen-scientists and develop a gene therapy for a rare genetic disease affecting the wife, illustrating the growing trend of patient-led drug development.  
• Claims that no FAAH-OUT pain-insensitivity mutants exist in the UK Biobank were debated; ibuprofen was noted as a weak FAAH inhibitor, underscoring interest in pain-modulating genetic targets.  
• ARPA-H’s THEA program is funding spinal-cord and optic-nerve fusion protocols that combine polyethylene glycol (PEG) fusogens with electrical stimulation to reconnect severed neural pathways.  
• MITMproxy, Squid, Dnsmasq, and custom CA tools were recommended as practical ways to filter YouTube and web content at the router level without requiring per-device SSL certificates.