# Summary of #hplusroadmap IRC Conversation (Oct 6, 2010)

* QuantumG and CryptoQuick discussed genetic engineering of trees that could float in Venus's atmosphere, inhaling CO2 and storing O2 in internal cavities, potentially creating a habitable canopy for future human exploration.

* Nature published two articles supporting amateur biologists: an editorial titled "Garage biology: Amateur scientists who experiment at home should be welcomed by the professionals" and a feature article "Garage biotech: Life hackers" about home-brew molecular biology labs.

* Kanzure shared information about a "cockroach controlled mobile robot" project that won awards at art competitions, though he noted it wasn't as impressive as the Backyard Brains neuroscience projects.

* Discussion of an "Open Science Tracker" project (http://ostr.cc/) was met with skepticism about its security and necessity when alternatives like biotorrents already exist.

* DARPA announced a livestream event about their VehicleForge project, scheduled for the following day, which would include Q&A sessions for participants.

* Kanzure shared a humorous DIYbio anecdote about someone planning to obtain fruit flies by placing "bottles containing smelling bananas in front of lab doors" if university researchers wouldn't provide specimens.

* The group discussed CAD software technical details, noting that Alibre uses a parametric STEP format and the ACIS kernel, while Solidworks offers a headless version for OEM integration.