# Key Points from #hplusroadmap IRC Discussion

- Superkuh maintains a space weather data tracking resource at http://erewhon.superkuh.com/spaceweather/, which includes various data sources and scripts for monitoring space weather phenomena.

- Participants discussed the lack of active online biology communities despite widespread use of common reagents and techniques, highlighting a disconnect between biological research practices and online collaboration.

- A technical comparison of microcontroller communication protocols concluded that SPI offers advantages for short-distance applications (under 10 feet) due to its full-duplex communication capabilities.

- DIY lab equipment was a major topic, particularly PCR machines, with participants noting the significant cost difference between commercial ($10,000), semi-commercial (OpenPCR at $600), and truly DIY versions (under $100).

- Kanzure shared valuable DIY biology equipment resources, including git repositories at http://diyhpl.us/cgit/ and wiki documentation at http://diyhpl.us/wiki/diybio/faq/projects and http://diyhpl.us/wiki/diybio/faq/equipment.

- Participants discussed research on serotonin signaling and caloric restriction mimetics in C. elegans, while noting the limitations of translating such findings to humans, especially given recent primate studies showing no longevity benefits from caloric restriction.

- A controversial plan was proposed to purchase university login credentials using Bitcoin to access paywalled academic papers, with technical discussions about anonymization methods and avoiding traceable systems.