# Key Points from IRC Discussion

• Participants debated philosophical frameworks for knowledge, contrasting Bunge's binary conception with scientific knowledge and common sense, while critically examining claims about quantum entanglement in biological systems, which most viewed as pseudoscientific.

• A detailed technical discussion on cryonics covered the toxicity challenges of vitrification agents (glycerol, DMSO, ethylene glycol), the difficulties of tissue perfusion without causing osmotic shock, and the complexities of cryoprotectant removal during rewarming.

• The group debated whether preserving neural connections (the "connectome") is sufficient for cryonics success, with some arguing that chemical information in the brain might be lost during chemical fixation processes.

• Participants discussed the historical C. elegans upload project from 1997, with kanzure sharing archived electron micrographs and noting its significance as an early upload attempt (http://diyhpl.us/~bryan/papers2/neuro/nematodeuploadproject).

• A research development on virally delivered telomerase extending mouse lifespan by 24% was critically analyzed, with participants questioning whether it would increase cancer risk and debating the experimental controls used.

• Technical conversations covered transposase enzyme mechanisms, requirements for diamond mechanosynthesis, and whether ultra-high vacuum conditions would be necessary for certain nanotechnology applications.

• Resources shared included structured protocols for DIY biology (http://diybioftw.com/post/19671614110/structured-protocols), the OpenWorm project (http://code.google.com/p/openworm/wiki/CElegansNeuroML), and a database of neuronal models (http://senselab.med.yale.edu/modeldb/ModelList.asp?id=3537).