# Summary of IRC Conversation (July 17, 2015)

* Discussion of DNA synthesis techniques, with kanzure analyzing the POSaM (Piezoelectric Oligonucleotide Synthesizer and Microarrayer) system, noting that acetonitrile and nitrogen represent over half the marginal cost, and suggesting improvements like using an air compressor inside the enclosure for blow dry and solvent spray steps.

* Fenn mentioned interest in building a urinalysis system, possibly in response to a shared parody video about fecal matter startups, indicating ongoing interest in DIY medical diagnostics.

* kanzure shared several open hardware resources, including a Xilinx Spartan 6 miniPCIe development board, NASA workmanship standards, and noted that Upverter claims to have 32,000 open-source hardware designs.

* A link was shared to a hacklet about brain hacks, featuring Paul's work on creating a library and reference design using Teensy 3.1 that would allow anyone to read EEG signals without worrying about line noise filtering and signal processing.

* Discussion of alternative DNA synthesis approaches, including speculation about using wafers instead of slides, with CaptHindsight noting that epoxy silane gives flat surfaces the right surface tension range, and kanzure considering a one-pot ligase reaction approach.

* Brief discussion of breeding animals for intelligence, referencing a blog post about breeding dogs to human-level intelligence and the novel "Manifold: Time" which touches on breeding cephalopods for increased intelligence.