# Key Points from IRC Discussion

• Participants debated evolutionary biology concepts, with pmetzger emphasizing that evolution is not design and doesn't systematically explore all potentially beneficial adaptations, using the example of vagina teeth to illustrate this principle.

• Self-replicating manufacturing systems were a central topic, with fenn sharing his stewart platform CNC mill project (http://fennetic.net/machines/hextatic) aimed at bootstrapping manufacturing capabilities, while others critiqued RepRap's claims of self-replication due to its inability to fabricate its own metal components.

• The group discussed a systematic approach called "skdb" that identifies manufacturing processes and inputs needed to achieve manufacturing "closure" - the ability of a system to produce all its own components.

• Advanced mechanical engineering concepts were shared, including resources on Canfield joints (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xVdwIiGUTMc and http://selenianboondocks.com/2010/06/cjoint1/), with interest in developing taxonomies for mechanical joints and linkages.

• Personalized medicine developments were highlighted through several links shared by kanzure, covering FDA-NIH initiatives, new funding for personalized medicine services, and emerging competitors to 23andMe.

• The discussion touched on synthetic biology advancements, including DNA origami tensegrity structures by Shih et al. and the challenges of creating artificial cell membranes that replicate the complexity beyond simple lipid bilayers.

• A specialized computer architecture called Ambric was described, featuring hundreds of RISC-DSP processors in a stackable 3D array, sparking debate about the relative merits of specialized ASICs versus general-purpose computing systems.