# Key Points from #hplusroadmap IRC Discussions

• Researchers discussed a conference called "Big Data Science in Medicine" (BDSM Congress), noting the unfortunate acronym while sharing the resource at bdsmcongress.org for those interested in the intersection of big data and medicine.

• A participant detailed their work with Focused Ion Beam (FIB) technology, describing its 4000x4000 pixel addressability and how gallium is used to wet the needle tip in the ion source, demonstrating the channel's engagement with advanced microscopy techniques.

• A technical debate emerged about visualization tools for FIB pattern files, contrasting browser-based JavaScript solutions (praised for accessibility) against standalone applications with fewer dependencies, reflecting the community's concern with practical tool development.

• A user shared their DIY experimentation with radiation detection technology, specifically building an X-ray detector using PIN photodiodes rather than traditional Geiger tubes.

• Resources from the Network for Computational Nanotechnology at Purdue University were shared (nanohub.org/dataviewer), providing access to databases of computational tools for nanobiotechnology research.

• Participants discussed cryptographic developments, noting that secp256k1 (Bitcoin's elliptic curve) had been added to the GPG development branch, enabling users to sign code with ECDSA keys corresponding to Bitcoin addresses.

• The group explored scientific research including a study on global variation in temperature effects on mortality and neuroscience papers, with paperbot automatically converting PDFs to text for easier discussion.