- Light-controlled polymerase systems were revisited as a route to programmable, mechanical multiplexing inside proteins, with emphasis on a “clock / ratchet / de-protection” mechanism that would give two orthogonal optical control channels.  
- A debate on nanotech simulation bottlenecks concluded that ab-initio modeling of even a 4 000-atom protein is still non-trivial; classical approximations scale poorly (≈ 49 T vector ops per timestep for 1 M atoms) and resonance effects demand better-than-classical treatments, yet no open toolchain has been built to validate models against real STM or AFM data.  
- Casey Handmer’s blog post arguing that “antimatter is the best post-chemical rocket propulsion” was circulated; channel discussion noted that natural cosmic-ray antimatter generation in atmospheres is negligible and present human production is far too inefficient for energy storage.  
- A $2 cell-free CRISPR kit (Nature Comms 2024) was highlighted as a frugal education platform; participants proposed iterating it into a low-cost, open-source gene-editing pipeline.  
- Kombucha SCOBY cellulose mats were proposed as ultra-low-cost bioreactors: growing the mat on paper/perlite, tuning pH and nutrients via adaptive feedback, and potentially evolving bacterial cellulose nanostructure toward mammalian-cell-compatible scaffolds.  
- A two-layer micro-bioreactor concept was sketched: bottom layer—mammalian cells on a transparent, buffered slide; top layer—live SCOBY separated by a semipermeable membrane; a camera or Na⁺/K⁺ sensor drives a nutrient dispenser to steer local evolution toward cell-friendly metabolite profiles.  
- Practical mammalian-cell media hacks were discussed, including diluting DMEM up to 90 % with common beverages (from Thought Emporium experiments) and the perennial difficulty of keeping fastidious mammalian lines alive without expensive incubation.