# Key Points from IRC Log

• A tentacle robot was shared via a Make Magazine blog post, showcasing an interesting development in soft robotics (http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2010/04/tentacle_robot.html).

• A LaTeX search engine (latexsearch.com) was mentioned, which would be useful for researchers working with mathematical notation and scientific papers.

• A significant 3D printing innovation was discussed: Enrico Dini's D-Shape printer that can print entire buildings out of sand and an inorganic magnesium-based binder, creating solid stone structures layer by layer.

• A presentation on "automated design of microfluidic lab-on-a-chip systems" and "statistical approximation of building topology from user-based wifi heatmaps" was given at an Automated Design Lab.

• The Federal Research Public Access Act (FRPAA) was referenced, which relates to open access to scientific research publications.

• A conference in the Netherlands on biohacking, open source, and hackerspaces was mentioned, featuring topics like "DIY Biology and Return of the Citizen Scientist" (http://wiki.eth-0.nl/index.php/Eth0:2010_Summer_CFP).

• A discussion about the X Prize Foundation's plans to launch $100M in prizes over 10 years, targeting neurobiology, personalized medicine, healthcare advancement, and physician augmentation/telemedicine.

• A silk-based brain-computer interface was shared from Wired (http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2010/04/silk-brain-computer-interface/).