# Key Points from IRC Discussions

• CleverPet was discussed as a device that collects data on pet intelligence, potentially contributing valuable information to animal intelligence and genetics research, though participants noted that genetic markers for canine intelligence have not yet been identified.

• The OpenWorm project's Kickstarter campaign fell short of its $100k goal despite having developed substantial code for simulating C. elegans as a digital organism, contrasting with the Glowing Plant project which successfully raised $484k by securing early large backers.

• Participants shared information about assistive technology innovations, including a tremor-cancelling spoon developed by Lift Labs for Parkinson's patients.

• The ILIAD Project on Indiegogo was highlighted as a citizen science initiative focused on identifying new antibiotics that people could participate in from home.

• A discussion on synthetic biology debated whether synthetically created products inherently have higher purity and the advantages of biosynthesis for clinical applications.

• The FDA's implementation of "golden tickets" (priority review vouchers) to incentivize drug development for neglected diseases was noted as a policy that rapidly transitioned from academic proposal to law.

• Technical challenges were discussed regarding tools for analyzing large codebases, specifically for generating call graphs for the OpenCASCADE codebase with its complex inheritance patterns and approximately 2,000 entry points.