# Summary of IRC Log (October 3, 2015)

• Kanzure shared a paper from arXiv (1509.07175) about Darwin's reading habits, which revealed how Darwin built his theory of natural selection by synthesizing different parts of Victorian science, showing shifts between familiar topics and novel fields that correlated with major intellectual epochs in his career.

• Several CRISPR/Cas9 advancements were discussed, including a single lentiviral system for multiplex genome engineering that can express a Cas9 variant, reporter gene, and up to four sgRNAs from independent promoters.

• A platform for rapid prototyping of synthetic gene networks in mammalian cells was shared, demonstrating the assembly and integration of functional regulatory networks including a large gene circuit (6 transcription units, 27kb) encoding an inducible memory device.

• Kanzure mentioned an upcoming chat about OpenCascade/OCE/OCCT scheduled for October 5th at 9pm UTC on Gitter, which would be relevant for those interested in open-source 3D modeling.

• Alan Kay's 2015 talk "Power of Simplicity" was referenced with a YouTube link, likely discussing principles of computing and design simplicity.

• There was a brief discussion about Zoltan Istvan's transhumanist presidential campaign, with comments about the dated appearance of his campaign website.