# Key Points from IRC Discussion

• Cory is conducting genomic research on a nitrogen-fixing bacterial strain, with sequencing data provided by Harvard after BGI declined collaboration, and ParahSail1n offered assistance with genome assembly to identify specific nitrogenase genes.

• A technical discussion about thermoautotrophic organisms explored whether CO and O2 could support growth without H2, noting that organisms requiring gas fixation typically grow slowly.

• The group critiqued "meta-medicine" startups that market themselves as finding better treatments for desperate patients than conventional doctors, with Rigel defending primary care physicians while acknowledging pharmaceutical industry influence on medical research publication.

• ParahSail1n and yashgaroth discussed advanced cell culture techniques, particularly working with HepG2 cells in serum-free media, and how mad cow disease forced biotech companies to shift from cow-derived products to expensive recombinant enzymes.

• Kanzure shared technical resources including a CMU paper on reverse engineering Super Mario Bros (https://www.cs.cmu.edu/~tom7/mario/mario.pdf) and mentioned discovering an Aaron Swartz-related mailing list called "slwaterflow" connected to guerrilla open access initiatives.

• The channel discussed practical technical solutions including using mitmproxy to access university library resources remotely, and critiqued organizational inefficiencies at hackerspaces.org for unnecessarily incorporating a foundation.