# Key Points from IRC Log

• Aubrey de Grey gave a new TEDxOxford talk (18 minutes) updating his previous TED presentation on aging, though one user criticized de Grey's claim that Alzheimer's and cancer are indistinct from aging as "bafflingly stupid."

• DIY microscopy was discussed, with one user sharing their experience creating a webcam microscope by inverting the lens on a $5 webcam, achieving approximately 50x45 micron field of view.

• Kanzure shared a comprehensive resource for DIY transhumanist projects at http://diyhpl.us/~bryan/papers2/diytranshuman_projects.v4.html, which includes various project ideas for those interested in biohacking.

• Microfluidics was highlighted as an accessible DIY biology project, with mentions of Whitesides' paper microfluidics as a low-cost entry point for beginners.

• A Perl module for laboratory automation was discussed (http://search.cpan.org/~jcline/Robotics-0.23/), created by Jonathan Cline from the DIYbio community to assist with liquid handling robots.

• A user shared a humorous futuristic scenario: "2059: Gradual-brain-replacement uploading is ironically marketed as an ethical weight-loss solution. Illegal in those checkered portions of the USA, UCSA, EU, and Greater Israel/Iran Co-Prosperity Sphere still under government control."

• OpenSCAD development was briefly discussed, with users noting it was losing its Qt dependency but still required OpenGL 2.0, with some suggesting it should minimize dependencies to core libraries only.