# Key Points from #hplusroadmap IRC Discussions

• Participants discussed CADnano, an open-source DNA origami design tool from TU-Munich, highlighting tensions between open-source marketing and practical limitations due to Adobe AIR's poor Linux support.

• The community shared numerous bioinformatics resources, including specialized textbooks on cell/tissue culture protocols and computational tools like connection-set algebra for neural network modeling, alongside a thesis on transcranial magnetic stimulation modeling.

• Technical programming discussions covered niche languages (Io, Joy) and practical tools like Pexpect for automating interactive applications, demonstrating the group's focus on computational approaches to transhumanist projects.

• Members explored NSF grant application strategies, discovering that unaffiliated individuals could submit proposals, though affiliation with non-profit organizations might provide advantages in the application process.

• The channel demonstrated ongoing work with SKDB (an open hardware/manufacturing database), including commits for LEGO components, reflecting the community's commitment to open-source approaches to physical manufacturing.

• Participants discussed innovative approaches to personal data collection, including a rediscovered polyphasic sleep pattern tracker from 2006, showing the community's early adoption of quantified-self practices before they became mainstream.

• The group explored efficient web scraping techniques using XPath in the Uzbl browser, emphasizing the need for targeted data extraction rather than collecting entire HTML pages.