# Summary of #hplusroadmap IRC Log (September 7, 2011)

* A study was shared indicating that "the heritability of general cognitive ability increases linearly from childhood to young adulthood," with discussion noting that genes guide actions, contrary to the politically popular "blank slate" theory (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19488046).

* Demographic data was discussed showing significant differences in ideal family size across cultures, with women in Austria preferring 1.6 children on average, UK women 2.4, Ugandan women 5.3, and women in Niger reporting 9.1 children as ideal.

* An octopus dissection DIYbio workshop was announced (http://octopus.eventbrite.com/), demonstrating the hands-on biological exploration interests of the community.

* Discussion about Nanorex and the Nanoengineer-1 software project revealed that while development had slowed, Mark Sims (the funder) was still active, with former team members occasionally contributing via the "glacially slow" development mailing list.

* A debate occurred about pipette tip storage and sterility in lab environments, with participants discussing whether tips could be stacked inside each other while maintaining sterility and usability.

* A $2,000 scholarship opportunity for open source hardware projects was mentioned, though criticized for requiring a YouTube video submission, which was considered an unnecessary barrier compared to other programs like Google Summer of Code.