# Summary of IRC Log from April 9, 2015

* A discussion about Ripple and Stellar cryptocurrencies included a link to a Hacker News thread (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9342348) explaining fundamental flaws in their design, with one participant expressing disbelief at the "internet is a working network" argument from someone designing networks.

* A researcher shared information about affordable piezoelectric pumps for lab applications, with CurieJet pumps available for approximately $50 each, providing a cost-effective solution for DIY lab equipment.

* A paper on "Photosensitivity of Neurons Enabled by Cell-Targeted Gold Nanoparticles" was shared, describing a technique where nanoparticles absorb light and heat up lipids to generate electrical activity in neurons without requiring ion channels, potentially relevant to vision enhancement for people with torn retinas.

* The Library Genesis (LibGen) scientific paper repository was discussed, with mentions that it has moved to a new domain and now contains approximately 12-16 TB of data, serving as a way to circumvent journal paywalls.

* A link was shared to gensim (http://radimrehurek.com/gensim/), a Python library for topic modeling and text analysis, with discussion about its potential applications for email classification and filtering.

* A paper on "Cellular automata as an alternative to (rather than an approximation of) differential equations in modeling physics" was requested through the channel's paperbot system.