# Key Points from IRC Conversation

• Participants discussed establishing a "fablab" or "techshop" space in Austin with manufacturing equipment including welding tools, vacuum pumps, and CNC machines, with plans to rent portions of the space for $225/month.

• The group explored creating a molecular biology protocol markup language (CLP-ML) using XML to standardize laboratory procedures like PCR and gel electrophoresis.

• Detailed technical discussions focused on synthesizing dopamine in microorganisms, particularly identifying the three main genes needed to engineer this pathway in E. coli, with research notes shared at http://heybryan.org/~bbishop/docs/dopamine/synthesis_of_dopamine.txt.

• Participants shared and discussed bioinformatics resources including Reactome.org, KEGG, NCBI genome databases, and the Protein Data Bank (PDB) for analyzing metabolic pathways and protein structures.

• The conversation included speculative discussions about targeted neurotransmitter delivery using micro-encapsulation and ultrasound for controlled release in the brain, acknowledging practical limitations.

• Researchers debated the practicality of biosynthesizing dopamine versus purchasing it commercially ($5/gram from Sigma Aldrich), while discussing protein separation techniques like gel electrophoresis.

• The group expressed interest in developing better computational tools for analyzing synthesis pathways, specifically software that could recursively identify all dependencies in a compound's synthesis pathway and match them to available model organisms.