# Key Points from IRC Conversation

• Participants discussed portable biology labs, with kanzure describing a "suitcase lab" for mobile biohacking that includes gel electrophoresis, thermocycler, and pipettes, with cold storage being the primary challenge.

• A commercial DNA synthesizer called OligoMaker (http://www.oligomaker.com/) was identified as potentially affordable for DIY biology, capable of synthesizing 10 oligos (20-mer) in under 2.5 hours with upgrade options for higher throughput.

• The group explored novel DNA synthesis approaches, including oligo assembly with DNA polymerase instead of traditional ligase methods, and debated the feasibility of a "staircase method" with varying estimates of success rates (5-10% vs >90%).

• A technical discussion on DNA synthesis economics examined the potential for at-home synthesis versus commercial services, with speculation about reaching price points as low as $0.00001/bp and the advantages of on-demand synthesis.

• Participants analyzed why organisms haven't evolved radio communication, with ParahSailin explaining that microwave photons (2.4 GHz) contain only 0.2 kcal/mol of energy, insufficient compared to ATP (7 kcal/mol) for biological utilization.

• The conversation covered Ruby/Java integration for bioinformatics applications, with Juul sharing code examples using RJB (Ruby Java Bridge) to interface with Java libraries while avoiding heavyweight frameworks.

• Challenges in academic collaboration were discussed, particularly at institutions like BIOFAB, noting issues with transparency, authorship disputes, and coordination difficulties among researchers with competing priorities.