# Key Points from IRC Log

• A discussion about science patrons and angel investors for funding self-experimentation, with legal implications being considered for dangerous research projects.

• Microfluidics technology was shared, including a Sanger sequencer diagram and papers from Quake's lab about microfluidic valves and a synthetic E. coli predator-prey ecosystem for accelerated evolution systems.

• A technical question about metagenomics research was raised regarding how to purify and segregate different amplicons from PCR mix for Sanger sequencing without a cloning step.

• A novel DNA sequencing approach using AFM cantilever mass-based detection was proposed, where DNA would be hung from a cantilever tip and nucleotides selectively cleaved to detect mass differences.

• A link to a PDMS-based microfabricated rubber microscope using soft solid immersion lenses was shared, demonstrating low-cost microscopy approaches.

• A reference to accelerated directed molecular-scale evolution in PCR was mentioned, involving RNA molecules in continually-cycling microfluidics PCR reactions with selective pressure.

• A mention of DARPA-funded research at Harvard involving growing skeletal muscle tissue.