# Key Ideas from #hplusroadmap IRC Discussions

• MIT researchers published potential common cold cure research in PLoS ONE, demonstrating a novel approach to viral infection treatment that generated significant interest among channel participants.

• Several major EU technology initiatives were discussed, including FuturICT, Guardian Angels, and Robot Companions projects, which are competing for funding and align with transhumanist research priorities.

• Participants shared technical methods for accessing paywalled scientific literature, including browser plugins, network proxying techniques, and automated scraping tools, highlighting the tension between open science advocacy and publisher restrictions.

• The conversation explored PDF watermarking technologies used by academic publishers, noting both visible text watermarks and hidden encrypted tracking elements that complicate legitimate research archiving efforts.

• Chemical parsing software and retrosynthetic analysis tools were discussed as ways to automate the extraction and processing of chemical reactions from scientific literature, with links shared to relevant papers.

• The group examined how internet access is fundamentally changing human cognition, with younger generations increasingly experiencing the world through digital interfaces rather than direct experience.

• 3D printing applications for space colonization were explored, particularly using lunar regolith with Fresnel lenses for material melting, referencing NASA's Space Settlement Study and lunar stereolithography techniques.