# Key Technical and Conceptual Points from IRC Discussions

• Participants discussed the limitations of standard blood test reference ranges, noting they typically represent percentiles of patients at specific labs rather than universal health standards—a concern shared by Functional Medicine practitioners.

• Technical details were shared about building an inkjet DNA synthesizer using phosphoramidite chemistry, with specific discussions about oligonucleotide immobilization methods and challenges in DNA synthesis workflows including cleavable linkers.

• A researcher described work with ordered mesoporous carbon (OMC) materials, explaining how they could create ordered hexagonal matrices with customizable pore sizes using block copolymers for self-assembly.

• Neural interface research was shared, including a paper demonstrating that a minimum insertion speed of 8.3 m/sec is necessary for safe insertion of electrode arrays into cortical tissue.

• Participants discussed tACS (transcranial alternating current stimulation) research related to lucid dreaming, referencing a Nature Neuroscience paper about inducing self-awareness in dreams through frontal low current stimulation of gamma activity.

• Technical specifications for building affordable atomic force microscopes (AFM) or scanning tunneling microscopes (STM) were discussed, comparing piezoelectric components with precision ratings (piezo tubes at 10nm/V versus piezo buzzers at 10cm/V).

• Resources shared included OpenPlant's Open Technology Week for open-source biotechnology and an article on "affordable rapid bootstrapping of space industry and solar system civilization."

• Participants debated different approaches to longevity research, contrasting active knowledge acquisition and technology development versus passive waiting for technological advancement, with references to SENS (Strategies for Engineered Negligible Senescence).